ypsi~dixit

Anything that makes my life quieter and slower is good by me.

Y. would much rather bike past her neighbor's roses each morning, and drown in a cloud of fragrance, and bike through the snow and imagine herself an Arctic explorer, and enjoy the testosterone rush from winter-biking, and feel healthy and strong and muscular, than sit in traffic and pay for parking.

Y. likes admiring the flowers on the way to work, and examining neighbors' gardens, and breathing in the cold, sharp December air on a bike. I find this infinitely preferable to sitting in a metal pod.

Plus errands are more fun with my car-people. Instead of a lonely ride to Meijer's for mulch I get to catch up on Ypsi gossip with the Listener or trade barbed observations with the B-man. It's much more fun.

Y. feels freer and happier tonight.

Plus apathy leads to savings. If one's only vehicle is a bike, impulse purchases vanish.

"Do I really want to schlep the bike to the store for a new top? Do I really need it? [laziness kicks in] nah."

The Oldgoat works for GM and would be out of a job if more people wised up as Ypsi Dixit has. Would gladly bike ride the four miles to work at powertrain except that there is no pedestrian or public access to the plant. I'm sure the that this has been done on purpose so that I am forced to own and drive and wear out my Buick/Chevrolet.
Oh... to turn back the clock 100 years before the automobile took over everything. More pedal power to you Dixit. You have my admiration. -Og

OG: Thank you for your kind words, Oldgoat. I find it strange that it's set up so that you cannot bike to work. No ped or public access? Weird.

Plus, not having to pay insurance means that around my birthday-time, August 7, I'll be able to buy a new bike! Right now I have my workhorse Schwinn and a recumbent for long weekend trips. Oh, and a 1940s vintage beauty that I keep just out of bike-geekiness. It weighs a ton--steel frame. It's a beaut.

Note to the Listener and the B-man: I need bacon bits. For my baked potato. If you please.

Whenever you're free. Life is not complete without bacon bits.

Oldgoat: would you please forgive my ignorance? How is it that our Powertrain plant is set up to discourage bikers/peds? Surely there's a...door somewhere...through which drivers enter the plant. I've never been there, so I don't quite understand. If you could explain how that works I'd be interested.

I was glad to meet Lem for the first time today before it found it new home. Cheers! - Steve

I was glad to meet Lem for the first time today before Lem found a new home. Cheers! - Steve

Actually, we ride bikes all over INSIDE the Powertrain plant. The roads leading to the plant are just not very conducive to bike riding,however

Steve: Lem was glad to meet you. He even offered to host one of your you-know-whats in his back window, but I told him I didn't see much point in that since he's headed to a new home in Ohio.

Bikes *inside* the plant? Cool!--I'd love to see that, actually.

Does Powertrain have any tours, like the Rouge does? It was so interesting to tour hte Rouge--I was rapt.

Free gas leads to violence in Milwaukee.

There are hundreds of bikes in the plant. They are all heavy single-speed types with fat tires.Most of them have a large basket or box on the front to carry tools from one job to the next. Flats are a constant problem with all the metal chips on the floor.
There used to be the occasional open house at our place,but I don't think there will be anything like that soon.

That's fascinating. I never knew that. There's something supremely ironic in bikes being used in service to building cars.

Not mentioned by Doug are the tricycles. Some with two wheels in front and a 'shopping cart' steering bar, and the more conventional two wheeled rear axel models. Getting across the expressway lanes is the dangerous part of biking to work. People have been killed walking to work along this road. Ms. Dixit, if you really want to see the place, (in all of it's heat a filth), it may be possible to arrange a guest pass. e-mail for details. -Og

Oldgoat: oooh, wow! How very kind of you! I would absolutely LOVE to see the plant! The Rouge tour was so fascinating! I know my adventurous friend would love to see it too, if that might be at all possible--he too loved the Rouge and the Michigan Ladder Co. tours.

Oldgoat, I would email you instantly, but, I'm sorry, I don't know what your email address is. If you have time, might you please send a note to ypsidixit(at)gmail(dot)com?

THANK YOU for your kindness!