Minor Notoriety

Welcome to my blog! i decided to start this one because of recent events in my life and I wanted share them with everyone.

Last weekend (August 21, 2010) I won the car trader contest for New Belgium Brewings' Tour de Fat. I traded my 1992 VW Jetta for a 2010 Black Sheep commuter bike, and no, I don't get my car back, ever.

This past week my car went to Vehicles for Charity and will be auctioned. 60% of the sale stays with Vehicles for Charity and 40% comes back to the Southwest Idaho Mtn Biking Assn or SWIMBA. I'm very happy with this arrangement and hope that my car fetches a bit to help these folks out. My old commuter bike has been parted out somewhat, with the wheels and tires going to my husbands bike so he now can switch wheels to commute to work instead of riding the knobbies. The frame and components I intend to donate to the Boise Bicycle Project as there is much about my bike that will still benefit someone. Overall this is great for a lot of folks not just me.

So why did I start the blog? Well I'm starting to feel like a pariah if I step into a vehicle and drive. Besides managing an eye surgery center, I'm a handcrafter and we had a show yesterday that was a couple of miles from my house. For the shows we must have a tent, tables, displays, our wares (which for me includes hula hoops), etc, etc...all in all, a very heavy and cumbersome load. I drove. What that got me was a bit of flak from someone who recognized me and asked me how the bike was. I told him and I also told him that I had driven to the show. He then proceeded to give me a hard time about that and I'm still feeling, 24 hours later, crappy about that interchange.

Today I DROVE to REI to pick up a new sleeping bag and miscellaneous parts for my bike, then Home Depot for pipe, Michael's Crafts for supplies and headed home. At REI I was asked, because of my purchases, if I was a commuter and I volunteered my status as the car trader, then told her I drove today to their store. She was quite nice and congratulatory and talked about some volunteer opportunities. What a difference...and to not be chided for driving.

When commuting by bike, if you are a new commuter or an old one with a brand new bike, you are going to have some growing pains. On my new bike I cannot fit my old panniers on the rear as there's no rear mounting system. My old rear-view mirror would not fit on my new handle bars. I now have solutions to both of those issues and will have a nicer ride to work tomorrow. One other thing about winning a bike is this: If you weren't planning on winning,but had appointments across town and suddenly you don't have your car, what do you do? (I drove to that appointment and subsequently am looking for a new doctor that is within a reasonable riding distance)

I'll be writing more on this blog, giving you the tales of my days on the bike. It is a great honor to be a car trader and I have a great opportunity to set an example of what can be done by bike.

Until we ride again, ciao