I never would have thought.....

I received another email from Александр (Aleksandr) this morning. You may recall him from this post.

I was born the year after the Russians launched Sputnik. I grew up when they were "Them". The people with the gulags and the nukes and the defectors and the spies. The bad guys, the Evil Empire.

Not only I am freely corresponding with a man from what is now called the Russian Federation about something we both love, but I got an invite to visit them the next time they hold this festival, along the lines of, "You'd have to cover your airfare and train ticket, but we'll take care of everything else."

Oh, if only! I need to win the lotto or something.

Saturday random

Tooled over to Silk Road in Oakland on a whim and came home with some blue linen and a red and cream plaid linen with a large repeat  at 25% off. I've been looking for a good red and white plaid reminiscent of some of the garments in this painting for awhile. 

I wasn't hallucinating that morning when I thought I saw a pennyfarthing cruising down Clement Avenue a couple blocks ahead of me. It turns out Alameda has a shop that specializes in antique bike replicas. http://www.hiwheel.com/

The reason I found their website is that I (a) continue to do battle with my weight and age, (b) suggested biking to reynardine in answer to one of her recent posts and (c) realized I should get off my doughy backside if I'm gonna make such suggestions.

I'm not suicidal enough to attempt commuting on one or road racing or any of that. I watch those mad folk in multicolored lycra pumping laboriously up hills my truck is having trouble with and honestly, that is NOT my idea of a good time.  Alameda is a very 25-mph-everywhere kind of throwback of a place and I think I could ride safely here without getting pasted. I could actually patronize more local businesses on Park Street if parking entailed locking up to a solid object instead of driving fruitlessly in search of a parking spot. Ride along the beach, or over to the old NAS and back on taiko night. Good for the body, good for the brain.

Bikes have gotten expensive and complicated since I last threw a leg over my old blue Fuji five-speed more years ago than I care to confess. I look at what's out there on the internet and my brain screams, I just want a BIKE, dammit. I don't need to win the Tour de Anything, have it make toast, take pictures or get wifi reception on the handlebars. Must it cost a month's rent into the bargain?

If it's got more than five gears, it's more bike than I need. Come to think of it, I could bike this town on a one speed with a foot brake. Sure,the Electras down at City Cycle next to my optometrist's are ooh shiny and I believe baronalejandro's Lurleen is an Electra, which means it's both a decent bike and badass. They're not exactly cheap though.  On the other hand, buying a cheap bike at HellMart or Target means dealing with partial assembly of something in Deity Knows What condition. After the dvd player debacle, I'd rather not go there.

Then I remembered this place, which, of course is closed when I drive past on the way to taiko. http://www.cyclesofchangeapc.org/  I like that they're recycling used bikes, training people to do repairs and earn bikes they couldn't afford otherwise. I took a look this afternoon. Current inventory was heavy on kids bikes (including a vintage Schwinn in screaming orange with a silver banana seat), a ton of mountain/BMX looking things and men's road bikes that looked too tall for me. The parking lot was full of families with kids trying out bikes - given the way they outgrow things, this is a great place to trade in and up. The young man I spoke was friendly and helpful without being pushy. He suggested I look in again later in the week as they get donated bikes in fairly often and something could turn up that would suit me. (Their calendar indicates they were taking donations at REI in Berkeley today.)

Swung by Wilmot Books on the way back and scored a Penguin book of T'ang Dynasty poetry and The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, which both looked interesting.

Came home, took a look at the Tousando and discovered that the Bushi from the Outlands is back from whatever rabbit hole he's fallen down and had posted to the board for the first time in a very long time. This pleases me as he is yet another of the Right Thinking people I count as a friend.