Planned for May 28-- Orange Beach Nature Trail!

This Saturday's plan is to meet at the Floribama parking lot at 9 AM to ride to the Orange Beach nature trail entrance, pick up any riders who would rather start there, then ride the beautiful wooded nature trail. See you there!

Remembering Joe Reed

I did not know Joseph K. Reed. But after our club pedalled to his memorial service at First Methodist Church of Pensacola this past Saturday, I wish I had. Several of our members rode with Joe when he was a member of the Freewheelers back in the 1980's, which is why we rode our bikes to the service, and trooped in wearing our bicycle shorts, bike shoes, and jerseys or t-shirts. Larry rode one of Joe's old bikes-- a blue Schwinn Joe took to Europe to ride the Tour de France route. You might picture him as a young man then...well, he was a young man in his 60's. He was a retired physical therapist, having served in the Coast Guard, Veterans Administration, and the U.S. Public Health Service. He had worked many years in Hawaii and Louisiana with patients who had Hansen's Disease (leprosy).

When Joe retired to Pensacola in 1984, he became a full-time volunteer, working with many different organizations including the Salvation Army, Loaves and Fishes, Habitat for Humanity, Baptist Hospital, Manna Food Pantries, and of course, First Methodist Church. He went to Ethiopia to work with leprosy patients there. He was named Escambia County's Outstanding Senior Volunteer in 1998.

You'd think Joe would have little time for anything else, but he was married and had a family, and he and his wife were avid bicyclists. They led bike tours and logged over 19,000 miles in the U.S. and overseas. That's a lot of bike tires, folks.

After the very nice service, we attended the reception at the Perry House next door-- a beautiful, historic old home that is worth seeing (inside there's a coffee shop open to the public ).

We met Joe's family, great people who expressed sincere appreciation for our riding bikes to the service, and especially for riding Joe's old bike. They asked Larry to bring it into the house so they and other people could see it.

I wish I had known Joe. But I'm glad I got to hear the stories, and ride alongside his bike.

This is Us

In case anyone reading this needs basic information about us, here it is.

We're Tired

Bad Joke: Why won't my bicycle go faster? It's two-tired.

Bad Tire Day: (no joke) when you have more than one flat on the same ride. That's happened the last two Saturdays! Fortunately, we had excellent riders who got things fixed and back on the road. It's a good reminder to always bring extra tubes, patches, levers, and a tire pump or CO2, not to mention a cell phone if you have to call someone. Bright side: whenever you watch someone change a tire, you will usually learn something new. But we're getting tired of those lessons now...

A Warm (but not too hot) Welcome

Our May 7 Saturday ride was delightfully mild, but not too hot, in more ways than one. We hope new member Karen felt more welcome than the heat, as she cheerfully stood with us on on the side of the highway when another member had a flat. As is frequently the case, some of our first rides with new members are not too hot because of those little unexpected interruptions that pop up on bicycle club rides. Another of our recent new members on her first ride with us had the pleasure of a long wait with relative strangers (us) when we sent out a search party for someone who hadn't shown up. But perhaps these first-time adventures are a very good thing, because (1) they are excellent learning opportunities for new riders about "what to do if...", and (2) they are living proof that our club really does care about every member, and will come back for you, share tools, expertise, and whatever else we have that might help. That's how we roll.

The Sound of Musing --April 30

Our Saturday April 30th ride was a perfect day to just enjoy familiar surroundings, and muse about them, at least if you have an a-musing, and probably somewhat la-la mindset that one-half of the Jake-Rachel

tandem team attributes to the other. Anyway, our attendance this morning consisted of Jake-Rachel and Lloyd, and one of us wanted to go east. We pedaled Mobile Hwy.-Cervantes to 17th and into East Hill, getting as close to the west side of Bayou Texar as we could without getting into the water. After noting the dog beach and Community Center Cancer Relay goings-on, we wandered into the Land of the Large Houses and Annoying Hills. The scenery was nice enough to keep us going for quite a while, but when we finally turned westward to meander our return, one of us who didn't have to steer, only pedal, started musing about the sights of this and that which we viewed on our return trip.

We saw some runners returning for, or from, either Cure for Cancer or Crawfish, not sure which, since both were being celebrated within a mile of the other. For some reason police had closed the lane for runners to run against traffic. We were glad for either cause, and it made at least one of us glad we were on a bike.

The Post-Run Celebration

The Crawfish Festival






A few blocks west (and north?) This old building (but not that old...30's, 40's, maybe?) made me think about times when buildings were expected to be a monument to something that would always be made or represented within its walls...like a church. This monument to Coca-Cola must have been a proud addition to Pensacola...might have been a bottling plant, company offices, or both. Do you know its history? The Coca-Cola logo and glorified soda pop bottle are carved in stone, a permanent adornment on a solid brick building. I wonder what the building is being used for now? Why did Coca-Cola leave? Where is Pensacola's cola bottled now?

Getting closer to "home"...the good old Barrancas Street Bridge crosses the bayou where you can see a small island through the railings. There are trees growing on that island. Is anything else on it? Is it owned or used by anyone? It's just big enough to make me imagine someone hiding out on it. Does it have snakes? Do birds build nests there?

Almost back...whenever I see someone's attempt to communicate on a public cultural (anthropological?) icon like a bridge, bus bench, rail car, etc., whether it is graffiti, gangsta signs, geek doodles, Phoenician or Martian, I am impressed that someone expects at least one other person to understand it.

This sign I do understand. If you've got lines for 99 cents, and beer for $2.00, it's the beer they are selling. But at least we've pedaled there for free, back to our starting point just across the street.

And it's much too beautiful to be inside bowling. We'd rather be rolling our bicycles outside, Freewheeling.