Yesterday, I got to ride solo. For those of you who are not the primary caregiver of three small children not yet of school age, this was very exciting. I can count the number of times I’ve left the house on my own this year on one hand. So not only did I get to go by myself, I got to ride my bike. It wasn’t some long relaxing ride purely for enjoyment, I went to Costco and back. But it was still a lot of fun.

Some of you may be used to this, but for me, this was an entirely new sensation: while stopped at a light, I got sandwiched between two buses. Wow, did that ever make me feel small… and vulnerable. I felt a bit better when I beat them both out of the intersection.

Another surprise: Cyclists are much more courteous about parking spots than drivers. When I arrived at Costco two cyclists were just unlocking their bikes from the rack. They apologized and quickly got out of my way, something that has never happened to me in a parking lot. In a busy parking lot, I have seen people get into their cars and intentionally sit and idle while people wait for their spot, also idling. I admit, I am making some broad generalizations here, and do feel free to correct me if you want. Just don’t make me take off these rose-coloured glasses.

Later, when I get a chance, I’m going to show you what I did with the trailer yesterday – we added a ‘trunk’. The picture on the right is the unmodified trailer, with the cover removed. The sun damage is pretty bad – and there’s some rust developing on the wheel hubs. Needs a lot more TLC. But now, it’s got double the cargo space, and that’s something.

More on the hacks later.

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