Saturday, July 24, 2010

Xtracycle updates, Masi survival and the garden....

Switched to some skinnier tires for the XtraCycle this summer and am really noticing a difference. At just over an inch wide, they kick the ass of the 1.75 inch tires I previously had. The Monkey Light has not been put to much use lately because the daylight never seems to want to go. I think in a month or so I will be able to use it on my morning commute once again, sigh.

I recently added the France sticker to my already crowded XtraCycle backboard


When I ride my Masi CXR out into the hinterlands I like to be prepared. So here is my kit:


Inside is my house key, a $5 bill for emergency beer, a hand wipe, some benadryl in case of bee stings and a book of matches. Inside the paper (which could be used for tender) are some iodine tablets. I have ran out of water in some places where there are some creeks that have water of dubious potability. So, I can drop some tablets in a bottle filled with creek water and drink up. There's even an old ginger altoid. All that is missing is a condom and a cyanide capsule.


Speaking of condoms and cyanide capsules, here are some gratuitous shots of the box garden. My poppy eradication program has failed.

Had a France flashback the other day. Sarah and I went to see a movie downtown. Those of you who know Spokane know that it is not a real bustling place, usually. And so it was that afternoon. Yet, in five minutes we saw more obese people in Spokane than we did in five days in Paris (a place that hustles while it bustles). We wondered why that was. Food and booze were cheap enough in Paris. In fact, it seemed like food and drink consumption was the main event. Didn't see a lot of gyms there. Hardly noticed a jogger. There were some cyclists, but definitely that was not the norm. How is it that these people eat and drink whatever they want and yet they stay slim without pathological exercising?

Sarah had an interesting thought around this. She noticed that all the outdoor cafes' chairs faced outward to view passersby. Her theory is that the Parisians are continually checking each other out and would rather be dead than be seen as obese or wearing unfashionable clothes. As such they are ever mindful of their consumption. So, is this a good thing?

1 comment:

Rachel said...

I think the real key is walking. If Paris is anything like the-rest-of-the-world-that-isn't-Spokane, then people do a lot more walking from place to place, and it really adds up.well, that and they probably don't have HFCS in all of their foods and drink 5 sodas a day. ;-)