New bike, bummer HI news

It has been too long since I wrote. Last week I went to Lakeville to buy a circa 1987 turquioise Schwinn Traveller from a young gent who apparently lives to fix up old, small 1980's road bikes. His unassuming garage was crammed full with bikes hanging from the ceiling. At 48cm it is about 2 cms too big for me. A coworker suggested that when I save up and get a properly fitted road bike that is about 46cm I could turn this one into my winter "fixie". He convinced me that it wasn't just a 1990's mountain bike like fad, rather that it is extremely practical to ride one of these in the frigid winters of Minnesota because there is nothing to freeze up or get icy. That seems nice. Plus I admire that fact that fixie riders can stand on their bikes at an intersection like they are on a unicycle. Super cool.

Speaking of super cool there was a couple of kids on the greenway this evening. They were 2 boys who looked to be in middle school. They had a homemade pedicab and their innovation included a really low seat for the passenger, almost like the passenger part of some shopping carts. (as a school girl my parents allowed me to ride in the area underneath in the shopping cart reserved for 64 cases of soda pop). I'm talking about the kind of shopping cart that used to be at Super Valu with the rectangular cargo area and the trailer hitch. I think that Lund's has that kind of cart too but I have never seen the oity-toity kids ride in it.

As I passed these kids I yelled "on your left!" and upon seeing their amazing contraption I yelled, "That is Super Cool!" The kid pushing the thing had the presence of mind to thank me and I motored away. If I see it again I may take a closer look at it.

The sad news this time is that Garrison Keillor cancelled on the Hostelling International National Meeting that is going to held the weekend before Thanksgiving this year at the Hilton. He will unexpectedly be out of town taping "A Prairie Home Companion". If anyone can think of some who loves to travel, likes people and is relatively famous, please leave a comment!