Let me state, for the record, that I actually managed to forget, somehow, how awesome it is to get to ride my bike all day while still earning money. That's pretty sweet. This has been a phenomenal week for me thus far, if not as great for our other courier, C, who had a run-in with a car and is laid up with an arm/shoulder injury (he plans to be back soon, even if it means rollin' one-handed: that's what I like about this dude; when he gets knocked down, he just springs back up, usually without even spilling his coffee).
With E on vacation in Ireland and C temporarily out of commission, I've been running my behind off for the past couple of days. Today QS's bottom bracket started making odd noises, so I decided to run with Hg for the afternoon stuff. I pulled off a sub-30 minute round trip to American Printing House for the blind, including a blazing outbound run, which actually surprised me. Apparently, I need to drink tea before taking runs more often. I am pretty sure I have never actually ridden as fast on the flat as I did on that run, and I am not actually sure I ever will again -- at least, not unless I'm riding with a group, or racing, or something. Putting out that kind of speed, in my case, apparently requires some serious motivation. Besides, it feels almost reckless to ride that fast in traffic.
I was surprised to find that Hg makes a really phenomenal couriering bike. There is no way you could mount a standard rack on him (though one of those seatpost-mounted ones could go), but he's cat-nimble and handles brilliantly at high speed. I think I'll probably do the same routine tomorrow -- take QS out for the big mail run in the morning, then switch to Hg for the lighter stuff. And carry an 8-mm allen wrench for those random moments when his left crank gets loose (apparently a 'known issue' with the early SL-K cranksets).
In other news, not long ago, I ran into Dave, the 'Fa(s)t Guy,' on the way home (don't worry, I didn't literally run into him!). It was nice to get a chance to ride with one of the RCCS guys and chat for a while, especially since it happened totally by chance. It was also pretty impressive watching him sprint for the light when he peeled off at his corner!
It's funny how that sort of thing happens -- one moment, you're sitting at a stoplight, admiring bike in front of yours; the next minute, you're rolling along in the company of a fellow bike nut, talking shop and so forth.
It's a lot harder, I think, to make that happen in a car. Plus, it annoys the drivers behind you way more than two bikes rolling along together and still leaving them room to pass.
This Friday is Bike to Work Day proper, and I'm looking forward to the festivities. Here's hoping that the demiurges in control of weather will favor us!
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