~~~
Day’s Verse:
An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
Proverbs 24:26
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I rode the Xtracycle to work today because I had to drop off a couple small-but-heavy boxes of books at the post office on the way to work. By the way, if you want any of the books we’re getting rid of, check this list and email me. Please take some books!

Anyway, when I get to work I find myself with my Xtracycle , intended for hauling things, and a room full of boxes I’ve been hoarding in my bike room.

Clearly this was a match made in heaven. Here’s what I ended up bringing home. This was just me circling the parking lot so Ian could take pictures, but I really did ride all the way from work to home like this, including a stop at the grocery store for a gallon of milk. I rode very slowly and received quite a number of astonished looks from drivers.

I am going so fast, Ian couldn’t even get a non-blurry picture of me.

You may have noticed the neon orange strap I used in conjunction with bungee cords to hold the boxes in place. The bungee cords I always carry in my bag, but the strap is actually that strap I usually have dangling off the back of my helmet. I had secured everything moderately well with bungee cords and was standing in my bike room thinking, “Well, I sure could use some rope, but I guess that will have to do,” when I picked up my helmet. The obvious solution immediately sprang to mind and I rode home with my boxes quite well secured. I heard no rattling or jiggling at all. I was also fortunate in that although it was supposed to be fairly windy, it wasn’t that bad. Much side wind could easily have blown me all over, with those boxes acting as a sail.

I think I need to mount one or two lights on the back of my bike where they won’t be obscured when I’m hauling things. Right now the only back light I have hangs off my under-saddle bag, which doesn’t do much good when that’s blocked with stuff. I also think that next time I’ll position the boxes better; this time they kept me from sitting fully on the saddle, so I ended up balanced quite uncomfortably on the skinny nose pretty much the entire way. Ouch.

All in all, though, I felt proud of myself for getting those boxes home by bike without any real trouble. Now if only I could find a way to effectively bring Xerox boxes home by bike…