My bike riding typically picks up in June because I no longer have to attend my daughter's school events. This June I missed out on almost a week of riding to take my daughter on a college safari from DC to Auburn AL and back. We visited six colleges in four days and drove more miles than I want to admit to.
Anyway, back to the bike. Despite the time off, I logged 621 miles in June. I did 23 rides in all and commuted to work 14 times. 338 miles were on Little Nellie, my Bike Friday New World Tourist. Yeah, it's a folding bike but that doesn't mean I can't use it like a regular bike. Six of my commutes and 12 rides were on Little Nellie. Big Nellie, my Easy Racers Tour Easy recumbent, placed with 254 miles, 7 commutes and 10 rides. The Sequoia is resting comfortably in the Rootchopper Bike Garage after doing one ride, a commute, of 29 miles.
My longest ride of the month was 41 miles. Just a ride around the area with some shopping thrown in for good measure. In fact, all but a couple of my rides were around 30 miles give or take a mile or two. My compatriots on the Friday Coffee Club team in the National Bike Challenge kid me about how much I ride. I feel a little like PacMac biting off 30 mile rides day after day.
The other highlights of the month are the new Brooks Flyer saddle I put on Little Nellie, the 30,000 miles that appeared on Big Nellie's odometer, and the 3,238 miles I've ridden in the first half of the year.
July riding will be complicated by car maintenance. Typically, I put Little Nellie in the trunk of the car and take it to the mechanic. We now have two cars in need of work so that will make for some interesting logistical legerdemain. Also, I lose a weekend in a couple of weeks to a trip to the world famous Sigler Family Reunion, where even heathens like me can get richly blessed if we so choose. We've been to this in-law fest for 20 of the last 21 years, missing only when my daughter had the swine flu a couple of summers ago. I hope to get in at least one long-ish (over 60 miles) ride this month. I also have to get my act together and start fixing Big Nellie up. She's looking the worse for wear these days. Fortunately, Tim Fricker at Bikes at Vienna has a new seat bag that looks like it would be the perfect birthday gift for the middle aged recumbent cyclists. Black or red would be best.
I also have a BF NWT. Her name is Betsy. I never thought to call her "Little Stella" after my Cannondale.
ReplyDeleteHi Colleen
DeleteThanks for your note. The name Little Nellie has nothing to do with the name of my recumbent, Big Nellie. It's a coincidence. The latter comes from the fact that I once descended a mountain so fast that I yelled "Whoa, Nellie." The former comes from a scene in the James Bond movie, "You Only Live Twice" in which Sean Connery calls back to Q in London and asks it (Q was an office at this point not a character) to "Send Little Nellie." Little Nellie is a kit helicopter that he assembles out of a couple of suitcases.
I hope you like Betsy as much as I like Little Nellie.