Certainly more people out walking, riding, scootering -- family earlier in the week on the Rio Grand trail, mother on bike, kids on scooters -- on the nearby trails than usual. One of the owners of the nearby High Desert Bicycles told me that business has been booming because people are repairing or refurbishing or buying bicycles as an alternative to restaurants or bars -- or, perhaps, work: the airline pilot/flight attendant couple across the street are anticipating furloughs; the pilot told me that he'd been flying empty planes, and that Delta -- he flies for Alaska -- has been losing a cool 50 mil a day. And the owner of the nearby computer shop said business had tanked and he has yet to pay the rent; I assuaged his grief by overpaying him for goods and services.
We're not yet under a curfew, but the schools have all closed and restaurants are limited to takeout and delivery. I see quite a few cars on the road, but rush hours are like mid-day. I was able to load up on beans and lentils and nuts and raisins, but the vegetable milk substitutes are sparse -- turned to cocoanut instead of the usual almond milk; and while I was able to load up the panniers with tortillas, there is no flour to be had in the 2 nearest grocery stores. Albertson's has early hours set aside exclusively for " senior citizens' " -- in **normal** English the term is "old people" on Mon and Th; a senior clerk told me that both days this week the lines outside the door were already long before the 7 am opening, and that he'd seen nothing like it since the Mount St. Helens event. I mean to ride my 2003 Riv in (cape flowing in the wind) on Monday morning and fight my way violently through crowds of crabbed oldsters to corner as much of the flour market as I can. Perhaps I'll batter the doddering competition aside with my Rivendell-cum-Ortlieb shopping cart. Patrick "65 is the new 30" Moore On Sat, Mar 21, 2020 at 4:39 PM DHans <[email protected]> wrote: > > I was out walking my pup in the neighborhood today and noticed more people, > especially more children, out and about riding bicycles and just playing in > general. I also couldn’t help but notice that fewer cars were zipping around > on this beautiful Saturday evening. Spring has sprung! Many of the local > restaurants are closed except for takeout, the parks are mostly closed > including tennis courts and soccer fields. So, it seems folks are staying > home and finding ways to bide the time. If there is a positive side to this > pandemic it is that, at least here in Watkinsville, Ga people are seeming to > realize you can enjoy time at home with family and even get outdoors and > enjoy the warm refreshing air. > > As I was walking I noticed a dad teaching his daughter to ride her bike. It > was so much fun to watch and made me think back to when I learned to ride. My > dad would push me while holding me up and running along with me. I asked how > do I stop dad? He said just pedal backwards and you’ll stop (remember pedal > brakes?). I tried several times but fell each time. He knew I could do it and > told me so ...and I could..the problem is I didn’t know it yet. After the > first fall I was mad at him for encouraging me to ride. The second fall left > me mad at that stupid bicycle. After the third fall I was just mad that I > fell and became resolved to do it. And, I did!! Of course I fell again > because as soon as I felt a little out of control I pulled my feet off of the > pedals. Goodbye brakes, hello ground. After that I was riding everyday for > hours on end. Riding meant freedom and I was all in! > As the dad in my neighborhood pushed his daughter along he would let go > without her knowing and she would glide along for a bit and then pull her > feet off the pedals and come to a stop. He knew she could do it but she > didn’t know she could do it...yet. Two boys stopped by on their own bicycles > to give encouragement. You can do it, they told her. And, she did after a few > more tries. Now the freedom and fun is all hers. > This all makes me appreciate riding like I did as a child. I am thankful for > riding my bike and for the joy of life, even in these difficult days. This > too shall pass > > Cheers, > Doug > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d826ce1e-4eae-453e-b9e3-752f31a53058%40googlegroups.com. -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgtcpjTVrB8jikEjp98%3D7jCqJ%2By_0DbdfPJ4Vukc%3DUGkuw%40mail.gmail.com.
