We took the Busycle out tonite on a Thank You ride. I had initially staged it to express my appreciation to all those who had helped to move it into Gerrry & Dana's driveway while I was in Ireland a number of weeks ago. Well as it turned out, when it came right down to setting a time and a date, Gerry and Dana were the only ones around, no one who had volunteered their time was available. Steve Branz and Jill Cohen replied to let me know they were out of town. George Bradshaw never saw my email and Ashook did not show until were were actually rolling.
And yet, Ashook and his friend, whose name I keep forgetting, were a big addition. But the hardest part, doing a three point turn out of the driveway, was done by just seven people. Gerry and Dana were joined by Anna DeCosta and her niece Nicole and friend Roz. I also managed to recruit a suited out cyclist with a Russian name I can not recall, from the nearby bike boulevard. This crew was joined by the man who would be this evening's powerhouse, Manny Garcia.
And as we moved the 9/10 of a mile distance to nearby Mitchell Park, we got faster and faster as we picked up more and more people along the way. John E Cabrera even caught up with us not far into our journey! We arrived to a park that was filled and alive with the sounds of the Unauthorized Rolling Stones.
Nor was it long before every seat was filled by kids as this evening's Busyclists all went off and got closer to the stage. I stayed behind and kept an eye on our machine which for me was like old home week. Friends from the nearby neighborhood where I used to live, who had not seen me for several years, kept coming up and saying hi. This as many dozen of little ones took their turn at sitting on the seats and trying their luck with the pedals.
When the music ended, we were a Busycle of kids and their parents on our way back to Gerry and Dana's. This was so because for every kid who asked to ride, I told them that there had to be one adult. And it worked so well that Manny did not have a seat. And of the original crew all that was left for the ride home were Gerry and Dana.
And it was a good thing that Manny did not have a seat. When he was not sitting on the Busycle gearbox, a maneuver I frowned on that required him to jump aboard while were moving, he was behind the Busycle pushing us up any rises in the road that slowed us to a crawl. His power, the three times this happened on the way back, was huge!
We pulled into the Busycle driveway as the dusk like conditions were giving way to a darker and darker evening. Soon the beautiful cover that Empire Covers donated was on and mounted and another Busycle ride was on the books!!
If you want to Busycle with us next Saturday to hear Fotia, a Greek folk and blues band, at Mittchell Park, reply accordingly. If I get enough interest, I will get a ride together.....
Pictures soon!!
THX 4 all of U!!
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