Life with Dummy

It's been a really nice labor day weekend, except for the totally crappy, October-like weather. Our plans for Shakespeare in the park were dashed by cold and rain. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Saturday, I took Jess out for her first ride on the back of the Dummy. We went to the Little Red Bike Cafe, 1 mile from our house, for coffee. When we pulled up, a couple I had met a few weeks ago were sitting outside with their little boy who is about three and totally adorable. I introduced Jess and they wanted to know about the bike of course.

Then while we were sipping our java, another couple came up and locked their bikes up to the pole next to us. Of course I was checking out their bikes--it's a good thing my wandering eye runs to bicycles and puppies. They were both road bikes and one was a Scott, which I've been seeing more and more of lately. We struck up a conversation and it turned out they had just moved her from Utah, in part because of our great bike culture. (Probably the other part was just to escape Utah, not exactly known as a lesbian haven, but I didn't ask). We talked bike stuff, locking tips and I turned them on to a few resources. I seem to be meeting a lot of people lately who are moving here for the biking, which I love.

After coffee, it was my turn to ride on the back of the BD. It was super fun and I'll have to see if I can talk Jess into pulling me around more. Back home, we switched bikes--Jess on the Tikit and me back on my Scott--and rode over to NE to pick up a Zip truck for a few hours so we could pick up some more rocks for our yard path project. The ticket went into the truck cab and the Scott was locked up by our parking spot so I could return the truck later and ride home.

We were careful not to say that we were 'done' one we had our load, which was good because we had to go back immediately and get more stepping stones. Jess spent the evening working in the yard, while I cleaned up inside and then we watched one of our Netflix movies and Jess stayed awake for the whole thing!

Sunday, as we got ready for Shakespeare in the park, we realized it was misting. A few minutes later it was raining in earnest. We hoped it might clear up by the time we got over to SE, so I still packed up our camp chairs and blanket on the BD. I busted out the Bob trailer drysaks I was hoping to keep stored a little longer. They work perfectly on the BD, allowing you to load a massive amount of stuff and still keep it all dry--essential for hauling through a rainy Portland winter.

We rode to T & L's house and the rain was still coming down off and on. So we went to plan B, which was having lunch and visiting with them at their house. We stayed a few hours and enjoyed a delicious lunch that included a sandwich bar, watermelon, peaches, banana bread and americanos from T's new espresso machine. The only bummer was how cold I felt the whole time, even sitting inside.

When we left, we put on all our rain gear, which depressed me no end. While I waited for Jess outside Trader Joes, I watched people come and go in their flip flops and t-shirts, in defiance of the weather or maybe they just don't have any sense. I never was one of those people than can just run around in skimpy clothes when it's 50 degrees and raining.

Jess came out of TJ's with a 30 lb grocery bag and a watermelon for me to carry. She helped out by taking the bag of lettuce. Gee, thanks. :) The load was fine though, the BD takes it all in stride. By the time we got home, the little tickle in the back of my throat had become a full fledged cold. My plan to help in the yard was foiled and I spent the night shivering, despite wearing three shirts, a hat and wool socks.

The biggest bummer about getting sick, was not being able to visit Lisa and Essex on Monday, but I did get in a coffee date with Eris. I rode the Tikit over to Blend Coffee Lounge and it sat folded up next to me while I drank tea and wrote on my laptop. So quintessential Portland I can hardly stand myself. When I left, a guy followed me outside. "I'm so curious to see this!" I think he had never seen a folding bike before or knew they existed. I gave him a demo, and told him about the Bike Friday web site. It's a good thing I'm a very social person. It's kind of cool having bikes that are such conversation pieced. Though truth be told, I can have a good conversation about any bike.

The weather seems to be on the upswing for at least a week or so, and my cold seems to be running it's course fairly quickly. Jess has the next two days off and we actually have NOTHING PLANNED! It's a miracle. I'm hoping to get some boring stuff crossed off my to-do list and I've got tons of catch up to do on this blog. Stay tuned.