Bicycle Belle Ding Ding

[LeahFoy]

Hi All,

I read the list all the time but haven't said much as of late - but I mean to! I recently got back from Ireland and I even took photos of interesting bikes as seen on the streets there - while my husband rolled his eyes in the background - because I knew you'd care (my ONLY biking friends are on this list).

I've been out here, riding the wheels off TBBITW (The Best Bike in the World, if you don't know) and loving it. School is in full swing and we remain the only members of the Bicycle Bus. I've somehow managed to add a VIOLIN to the already obnoxious load on TBBITW, and still make it up Death Hill. I put my pride aside last month and got my older son a rack and Wald from Rivendell so he can at least carry his own laptop and jacket. Even just that much off my bike makes a difference. More on that later.

I have several photos to share but I read somewhere that it is frowned upon to put them directly onto the list email. With LTE and high speed internet, is this still the rule? I could be obedient and use a Flickr link, but it won't be nearly as fun without words. Someone on here knows the solution.
Thanks!
Leah

[Joe Bernard]

Leah, my understanding is photo links are recommended, but it's not a 100% ironclad rule and I see photos in posts all the time. Show us the pics! With the words!

[Garth]

This is LIFE .... is it not ? Is not Life it's own celebration in Living form ?
All I know is Life is no "ruler" .... for who would Life "need to rule" over when Life IS "Everything"?

.... funny how obvious and wonderful Life is when you just listen ☺


Ding a ling for photos !

[Leah Peterson]

Hi, All! Thanks for your kind words. Let the barrage of photos begin!

First off, it’s me, Leah, formerly LeahFoy. I decided to change my name to match my Instagram @bicyclebelledingding. Same person riding the same bike, but new (better) name.

I’ve really wanted to write this post for a long time because it has been a year for the books. I’ve had so many great opportunities to see the world in 2017, and best of all, I often got to bring my bike. Though I’ve been living in exile for 13 years in the desert, North Dakota (heretofore referred to as God’s Country) will always be home. I married a Minnesota boy, so that’s home, too (Diet God’s Country?). I make a pilgrimage up there every summer to see our families, and I drive so that I can bring our bikes. I mapped out our route this year to indulge in all manner of scenic glory. We experienced hot springs and geysers, and bison roaming free. We marveled at the serenity we found in lake country and shored up our knowledge of American history at several national parks and national monuments. We had our breath taken away by waterfalls, breathed in cold mountain air and got nudged into a snowball fight with an elderly woman who started it. I had the good fortune to get to set my feet on foreign soil in both England and Ireland, and savor the sights and history there. It has been a blessed year. I’ll include a few photos of our trips first (sans bikes) and finish strong with bike photos.

One does not leave Woman’s Best Friend in the the car. Undignified as it was, he consented to being stuffed in my pack. Happiness for him is wherever I am, which is how he can be convinced.

Hot springs. I can’t believe these are real.

The Grand Tetons. 

There was even time to ride our bikes along the river path in Idaho Falls!

Now, back to bikes. Every summer I bring our bikes to my mother-in-law’s lake home. There are wonderful trails to ride, and someday, when the kids are older, I hope to take the famous Heartland Trail. For now, we stick to the trails in town. Pictured here is my Betty Foy, my MIL’s Clementine, and my husband’s Clem. My MIL has very little bike experience, but she wanted a Clementine because she knew how I loved my Betty. The step-through frame is absolutely perfect for her, and the upright bars are dreamy. She has no idea how to use her gears, so she just stays in the same gear and rides blithely around town. She tells me she loves her bike because it’s so comfortable, and it makes me so happy. 

This is Minnesota in summer. It can’t be beat. Yes, those are socks I’m wearing with Keens in this photo. I was forced and I blame my husband. “If you’re coming for a ride I’m leaving now!” he said. I grabbed the nearest pair of shoes and ran for my bike. Not my best look, but the bike is pretty! Also, note the patch I had stitched onto my Saddlesack. Is that the cutest or what? A blue bike for my blue bike.

This is God’s Country in summer. It can be beat, but only by Minnesota. My bike looks naked in this photo; there are no rules about streaking through God’s Country!

After a lovely summer, it was back to school and my Bicycle Bus. Sadly, the only members of the Bicycle Bus are my two sons and me. Oddly, the residents of this canyon find biking to school to be admirable, and they will often see me on campus or roll down their windows on the street and say so. I wish they would join me, but no takers yet. 

The promised lockers at the middle school never materialized, so here I am with the laptop, largest rolling backpack L.L. Bean makes, the little guy’s backpack, and - new for this year - a violin. The orchestra teacher and I are friends and I told her, “If you assign him the cello, you and I are DONE.” We threw our heads back and laughed imagining me on Death Hill with a cello in tow. This photo was the inspiration for me to create the hashtag on Instagram #doesthisbikemakemelookhomeless? 

My bike is outfitted with the Nitto Big Front Rack and huge Wald basket, and on the back is the Nitto Big Back Rack with a pair of the old-fashioned Backabike bags. On the bars is a Multisack for my keys, pepper spray and iPhone. Bag matching is for sissies.

I mean, I even have the musical instrument. I lack only a bucket for the donations. 

Well, after some miserable uphill rides with all that stuff, I got my son a rack and Wald basket. You would not believe it, but just being able to unload his jacket and laptop makes a difference. If anyone needs a great kids’ bike, I recommend this Hotrock. His best friend (who was lots taller than him) got the 20 inch Hotrock in their 1st grade year. My son begged and pleaded and handed over all his savings to get this bike. We knew it was too big but there was no changing his mind. After a near-death experience involving him, his old bike, and a major artery of traffic, we relented. He’s in 6th grade now and still riding the same bike! The Red Rocket, we call it. Money well spent. Not pictured: my younger son and his Islabike. ALSO money well spent. He will outgrow it by the end of the year and the Red Rocket will be his, and then I’ll make him portage his own backpack. For now, he is blithely unencumbered and fairly dances up the hill while hogging the spotlight. Older son and I are too winded to get to tell any of our stories, and my little guy knows it and talks from the time our wheels leave campus, until the time we roll into the driveway. “I have Lincoln Tales to tell,” he says.

Meanwhile, this fall the saddest thing happened. My beloved 13 year old dog developed spinal stenosis. He was in excruciating pain, and all the meds in the world couldn’t fix him. I cried rivers over him, trying to decide what was best to do. 

We walk, he and I. Every darn day. Usually twice a day. This was the worst of the ordeal; he would look at me with those eyes, begging to go for a walk, and I would inevitably give in, and within 2 houses, he would be totally lame and suffering again. I used to make fun of dog owners who pushed their dogs in strollers. Now I secretly longed for one! I started using TBBITW as a dog stroller. Riding was too rough for his back, so I’d just walk the bike - with him in his Wald - around the neighborhood. The many uses of a rivbike. Probably not its noblest use, but it was to me for that time period.

You’ll be pleased to know that 2 hours before I was to put him to sleep, my dog greeted me at the door with wagging tail. Seeing this, I decided to give him the weekend. He improved even more. By the next week, we were walking a modified route and he was showing little pain. That was weeks ago, and he is now fully restored and as lively as ever. I know he still has the condition, but the inflammation must be gone, because he’s like new. Despite being 13, he is always mistaken for a puppy, so energetic and bright is he. To be given back my dog is a GIFT; I don’t know that I have words for the joy.

That brings us to last week. My husband had business in England and Ireland, so we paid my way and I went for pleasure. I saw this bike in London and shrieked. I *immediately* thought of you guys and started taking photos while my husband pleaded with me to stop being so embarrassing. A Brooks! In its native land!!!!! It was removed from the bike and locked to the rail.

There’s even a weathered copper bell! 

I posted this photo because look at my “purse.” I decided I wanted something lightweight and rain-resistant for the trip. I can’t recommend the Grabsack enough. It holds so much more than one imagines it would - I had gloves, umbrella, wallet, passport, etc and the Grabsack swallowed it all with ease. And honestly, I like the style. So did the security guard doing bag checks, actually. This was taken in the “King’s Apartments” at Kensington Palace in London.

And this, I thought it looked like a murder scene. The murder of a bike. How come nobody but me seemed to care?

This was Ireland. I think there were more cyclists in Dublin than England. They were everywhere, despite having poor infrastructure. Both bike share and personal bikes. The taxi drivers we rode with said cyclist fatalities are quite common.

Is this a real Dutch bike? I was so excited to see one in real life, because I doubt I ever have.

A farewell shot. I went to parent teacher conferences and the teacher looked at me and said, “You bike? In your jeans and boots?” You bet I do, Mrs. G. You bet I do.

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[Garth]

Yay for photos LeahFoy !!!! 

Upper mid-west does have the best summers , though I have to meet a summer I didn't like no matter what the locale was called !  

[Chris Birkenmaier]

Great fun to read this! Thanks for taking us along on the adventure

[islaysteve]

Leah, Welcome back!  It's so good to see you here again.  Always a pleasure to read your posts and enjoy your photos.  Cheers
Steve

On Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 1:49:18 PM UTC-4, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

[Steve Butcher]

Happy thoughts and images upon which to begin the day!   Thanks, Leah!

[Leah Peterson]

Thanks for reading, everyone. I’m so happy your devices didn’t crash with the onslaught of photos. 

I forgot to add one last thing re: the Bicycle Bus - how could I forget this? 

This could be titled, Leah’s Bicycle Bus Goes to Court.

It was 3:00 pm on a lovely May day. School had just let out, and my two sons and I were perched upon the sidewalk holding onto our bikes and waiting for the WALK sign to walk the bikes across the crosswalk. There were several other kids standing with us. I know it sounds crazy, but it was like it happened in slow motion - an SUV came straight for us, came UP OVER THE CURB, ONTO THE SIDEWALK and nearly hit us. Inches. Mere inches away. The driver continued to drive, his two right wheels up on the sidewalk, driving as if nothing was amiss. There was a row of orange cones near the curb, and as he drove on, he ran over two and they became wedged under his chassis. He never reacted like anything was amiss; he just kept driving. Clearly, this person is impaired. As we were still trying to take this all in, a car drove by us with the window down and the driver, a woman, said, “I saw that! I’m calling 911!” 

We were all ok, and pulled ourselves together and began our climb up the hill. When we reached the top, that kind woman had pulled over and was waiting for police. She had followed the driver to the the entrance of the gated community he must live in, and had reported his license plate number. She had been following this driver because before our encounter, he had hit her car with his and refused to stop. The damage to her car was minimal, and as she drove behind him, she was mulling over whether to call the police or not when she saw him drive up onto the sidewalk into a crowd of school kids. Now she knew what she should do. We waited together until the police arrived.

The police officer wrote down our information and told us there were 5 other recent incidents on this driver’s record besides ours. He was a tenacious officer, not willing to give up and let this person go free. He went straight to the residence but the man refused to answer the door. The officer continued to make contact and hours later the man answered the door, and he was falling down drunk. There was no way to prove he was drunk at the time of his incident with us, so they read him the riot act but left without an arrest. They did file charges of failure to maintain his lane and leaving the scene of an accident. Just before my trip to Europe I found out the drunk was fighting these charges, prompting the City to subpoena me (and other other woman involved) to court as a witness. I’ve stayed out of trouble my whole life, so being in court is new and intimidating for me. I was greatly relieved when the court date was called off two nights before I left for Europe. I returned home, planted my feet on American soil  just in time to get another subpoena, this one for December 13. The investigator who subpoenaed me said the guy is likely trying to cut a deal, thus the continuance. I’m rather dreading facing this man in court. I never saw his face, only his vehicle, so I’m not a good witness. The other woman will be more important, I would think. I am not looking forward to an attorney pointing this out to me, or to having my character questioned. I also know where this man lives and thanks to Facebook, who he is. Which means he can know who I am as well. He has a lot of money and is in a really bad emotional state; thanks to FB I also know he has a teenage son dying of brain cancer. I feel for him, but he’s going to kill someone. 

Leah

[Steve Butcher]

It's tragic, what this man is going through with his son.  It would be just as tragic had he taken the lives of one, or more, of those children on that sidewalk.  There is no excuse for driving while impaired.  Hopefully, his attorney will work out a plea bargain and you won't have to testify.  If you do have to testify, I know you'll be given the words to say.  Always remember,  you're in the right, Leah.

On Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 12:08:30 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

[Ty Smith]

New to the forum and just have to say I love this post, particularly the section about your dog. I read it out loud to my wife and we both cried.

I have two dogs, one of which is an 11-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Guinness. He had surgery for luxating patella on both knees when he was very young. He is still very spry, but my wife and I can tell he is starting to get achy.He will just come to a stop in the middle of a walk. When that happens, we just pick him up and carry him home. At 12 lbs, that is doable. 

 I am dreading the day when he is in too much pain to walk. I love your solution particularly since it obviously gave  him some relief. We have a mini doggyride trailer that converts to a stroller.We got it years ago when he was having his knee surgeries. At least we are ready to go when it becomes too much for him to walk at all.

Thanks again for the story and the pictures. I hope your dog continues to feel better.

Best,

Ty Smith

San Mateo,CA

Here are Guinness and Penny in the trailer doing a test-run on my Xtracycle:

Here they are posing in front of it out near the Facebook campus. 

 Guinness is closer to the bike.

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Oh, Ty, thank you - I’m touched. I’m glad to hear your dog made it through his surgeries and that you’ve had many happy years. They go so quickly, don’t they. I hope you’re able to squeeze every last drop of joy from his golden years and that you know you did your best for him. He’s clearly been well-loved. And cleverly named. Cheers to Guinness! And to you.
PS my dog continues to defy odds and act like a puppy. I have videos to prove how bad off he really was. If not for those, even I would accuse me of exaggerating his pain and suffering.

[islaysteve]

Leah, I'm so happy to hear that your dog continues to do well.  It's so hard for us sometimes to know how our pets feel, but yours is giving you a pretty clear message!  Regarding your upcoming court date, I hope you're not stressing too much over it.  I'm not an attorney, but I did have a chance to testify in a somewhat similar situation involving a motorcycle accident which I witnessed.  Thankfully no one was killed and the cyclist was recovering.  Although my testimony clearly helped one party, the attorney for the other party did not attack me or question my competence in any way.  It was all quite civil.  I would hope that your case is as open and shut.  As you say, the testimony of the other witness will hold even more weight.  I know that you will come out just fine and will continue to be a great example to all of us.  Keep the bus rolling, Steve

[REC]

I think it is a noble use of TBBITW--to give comfort to someone you love.

... I started using TBBITW as a dog stroller. Riding was too rough for his back, so I’d just walk the bike - with him in his Wald - around the neighborhood. The many uses of a rivbike. Probably not its noblest use, but it was to me for that time period.