So, like any good gabacho hipster, I’m riding my Rivendell Clem Smith Jr. to the coffee shop when I encounter a couple of vatos trying to negotiate the pedestrian signals at the corner of Walk and Don’t Walk without getting centerpunched by a speeding SUV.
They missed their east-west opportunity, so they pivot to the north-west crosswalk, and the older of the two, sporting a cane and a limp, says to me, “Hey, can you give us a lift to Taco Bell?”
“Sorry, man, I forgot my basket,” I quip.
Unfazed, he replies, “That’s OK, he can ride on the handlebars and I’ll ride in back.”
Mad Blog Media 
Taco Bell? WTF?
I know, it’s appalling. In a town filled to overflowing with real food, these dudes were going to Taco Bell. Which is right across Tramway from a McDonalds, the joint Der Trumpenführer is said to favor above all others. Looks like I scored by dubbing him Ronald McDonald McTrump.
Ha ha…just like we used to do it when we were young!
Was expecting to see a pic of them on the bike with you!! 🙂
Yes! I wish there was a photo even if Patrick couldn’t post it. Just knowing there was a photo would be enough!
Sorry, no hitchhikers. Company policy. Something about insurance, blah blah blah.
Well, with the rack and those handlebars, it is a 3 seater. I do like that bike.
No ride for us this morning with all the rain. The cluster of storms then moved to Tucson and really got ’em. U of A Campus downtown got 2.6 inches of rain this morning.
It’s a nice little townie, for sure. Geared right, comfy, big ol’ tires. I’ve fetched some shopping home with it. And it’s purty, too.
By the way, did you notice your rear rack strap hook caught the rear derailleur cable?
Good eye, there, Pat. I was hustling the bike outdoors to catch the good light, before the morning sun took over the patio, and never even noticed.
Those handlebars look a little like the upside-down drop bars I recall from a lot of bikes in high school.
Including mine. First thing I did with a Schwinn Varsity was flip them bad boys.
$1500 for this bicycle? My shopping bike’s most expensive parts are the metal baskets front and rear, purchased ‘cuz I just couldn’t bear to steal any plastic milk crates, like most folks do for theirs. I’m all for “one less car” but a grand and a half is still a chunk o’dough.
Reminds me of a certain blogger who bragged about the “savings” he would get on airline bike baggage fees by buying a “travel bike” with a price tag of $8K. But both of these guys live in NorCal which is another world compared to mine.
Yeah, the notion of “savings” seems to be an elastic one. If you were to use a bike exclusively, this would be a nice one. Built to last, sensible components, etc. Lots cheaper than owning an auto, and it has a certain je ne sais quoi.
I periodically think how much I would “save” if I only had an RV for road trips. And then I price a few Class Bs, and also hotel rooms, and then I think again.
I’ve reminded myself how many hotel nights could be bought for the cost of a Class B.
Yea, it’s a shame that you can’t justify that Mercedes based class B with savings from hotels and restaurants. You could damn near buy a hotel for the price of some class B motorhomes. I insulated myself against this temptation by moving into a gated neighborhood that doesn’t allow RV parking. Maybe that will save me from myself. But a new VW Westfalia pop top that will fit in the garage? I will give them my wallet and say “take what you need.”
We were at Capitol Reef NP last month and saw a variation on a pop up camper that stopped us in our tracks. I jotted down the name on the side and googled it when I got home. What a cool little vehicle. http://www.sylvansport.com/
We could pull it behind our VW Golf Sportwagen. When not in camper mode it doubles as a utility trailer, making it useful when our 20 year old Ford Ranger with 350K miles finally goes teats up.