Another Silly Bikeathon Ride

We hung out with Vera Katz on the Eastbank Esplanade today. 

Today's numbers: 33.4 miles, 12.5 mph.  Very leisurely ride to downtown and then zigzagging around the waterfront.  Rather different kind of biking for me given that we rented 3-speeds, the urban environment has a lot more obstacles and traffic, and there were so very many people on the multi-use paths.  But it was wicked fun in the sun and reminiscent of the family rides I used to take with NTodd's Pa and NTodd's Pa's Wife as a kid.

Along the way we met Michelle Lopez, who is doing something really, really silly:

I guess the first thing that I should do is be honest with everybody, so here it goes: Whenever I tell people, especially my closest friends and family, that I’m going to be biking 4000 miles across the country with Bike & Build, I get a lot of skeptical looks and expressions of disbelief.
...
Here’s my chance to raise awareness for the cause in a fairly exciting and eye-catching way. Not only that – I feel like serious problems like housing shortages need extreme measures and drastic initiatives in order to even begin to create a change. Well, biking 4000 miles from New Hampshire to British Columbia is a pretty extreme measure, if you ask me. And if somebody as sluggish and couch-potatoey as I am can do something as amazing as raising $4000 / biking 4000 miles for a good cause, I hope that I’ll be able to inspire others to do the same and prove that they can do it too. If nothing else, I’ll be able to raise awareness for the problem by sharing stories of my experiences with Bike and Build.

What a poseur!

Anyway, she doesn't appear to have a blog, but many of this summer's riders do so if anybody is from your area you might consider following their progress.  Also be on the lookout for them in public places selling cupcakes, as Michelle was, or doing other fundraising for their trip!

ntodd

PS--Special shoutout to the dudes at Waterfront Bicycle--from whom we did NOT rent our rides--for helping out with the flat I got 5 miles in.