Xtracycles are really for hauling cargo, but, I have been chicken to really load up for one reason. I was uncertain of my ability to get back up the hill to my home once I went down (!).
However, I decided downhill to work was the best way to start, so today I hauled a huge plastic toolbox containing my anthropology class primitive firestarting kit back to school. Zero problems- didn't even know it was there. En route home I stopped at the grocery store and grabbed a gallon of milk and a quart of ale. A benefit of hauling a beer up the hill, one feels ever so much more smug about drinking it once home.
Super dark, so helmet/headlight, handelbar light, 2 blinkies, reflective ankle bands, all deployed this time. No problems, so I suppose it was a success. It's also getting colder, in the 40s, and it still feels good.
We'll see about November.
Side note- a motorist shaved past too close today and when I loudly requested he give me more room (nothing offensive, just loud), he actually stopped in the middle of his lane, rolled his window down, and then cruised alongside me and said that cyclists are supposed to yield to cars. I told him to review the law, and that bikers are afforded the same basic rules of operation as vehicles, and that I was yielding, by riding on the right side of the road. How far over can one get on a two lane, one way street with cars parked on both sides? Get run over or get doored. He just got peeved, and hassled me for a block or two. What's with people?
Ride Loaded... as the folks from Xtracycle say. Today I took a bulky but light load of plastic containers, cardboard, and paper to the recycling center. This load also included my briefcase, duffel, lunch, locks, lights, and an empty growler to return to the local brewery. Leaving for town is easy, it's all downhill. Returning is where I frequently wish I had the Stokemonkey electric assist system from Cleverchimp.
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