Things That Can be Carried on a Bike (#395)...and a couple comments

On the bike: A new 6 qt. KitchenAid stand mixer.

First Comment: As some of you may know, I had a mixer fail on me recently (click here) and have had a very dissatisfying experience attempting to have it repaired at Sears (click here). To make a long story short, I have the old mixer back, not repaired. It is, if you are interested, for sale...cheap (if you have the inclination to repair it yourself). And I am still too frustrated at this point to mention the reasons I am selling it, rather than having it repaired. I did end up purchasing a new one, mainly because I found one at nearly half-price simply because the color is being discontinued...which, interestingly, is the same color of my former mixer: silver. I must not be that trendy.

Second comment: When I ordered the mixer I had it delivered to my place of employment because I am there during business/delivery hours...I didn't want to miss it. It arrived today, and before I left I rode my bike around the city block to the front of the building where it was delivered (the hired help--even the chef--enters the rear of the building, which is fine with me). Anyhow, upon seeing me with my bike the general manager and the office manager both offered to drive me home with the package. No thanks, I told them, this bike is built to carry stuff...and you know me by now, this is how I like to do it. Almost without listening, the manager said that she would call the maintenance man and have him drive me home...that he has a pickup truck. Really, I told them again, and said thank you very much, but this bike can handle it, and I reminded them that I too owned a pickup truck, but I choose to ride and carry things on my bike(s) when I can. Finally they let me go, but they still looked a little worried. As I was strapping the box down a guy walked past me on the sidewalk (pavements), smiled and said, Geez, that's quite a bike you have there. Yes it is, I replied, and pedaled and coasted home nearly effortlessly on this beautiful and unseasonably warm spring-like evening.

Urban Simplicity.