Are there regular riders that you see every day on the road? Ones that don’t give a hoot about style, gear or getting there in a hurry? This fellow is one of my favourite regular riders in Vancouver. I’ve lived around Main Street for the past four years or so and this guy is always riding. His usual routine is down Main Street in the morning and back up the big Main Street hill in the afternoon. He is oblivious to the traffic and slowly pedals along in the bike/bus lane.
He has recently upgraded his bike to the one pictured here – he used to ride a heavy, old city bike with a DIY curb-feeler that he probably constructed himself. But even though the bike is new, some things remain the same; the yellow hard hat he wears as a helmet and his daily ride down and then back up Main Street.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Zoot Katz // May 7, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Often times while sitting at “The Grind – Cafe and Gallery” on Main Street at King Edward, I’ve definitely noticed his afternoon routine. How can one not admire his casual grace amid the rushing throng?
2 Zoot Katz // May 7, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I’ve two heros down here in Marpole.
The 80 something Scot granny on her cherry 3spd Raleigh who told me “UP YOURS” when I commented what a nice bike she had.
Not recognising a rebuff, I pursued it to learn she doesn’t talk to my “kind of people”. I see her all the time and wave but never get a response.
John is eighty five and rides either a red BSA or blue Raleigh coaster brake bike everyday. He last owned a car in 1949. That’s as long as I’ve been breathing. He dislikes multi-geard bikes figuring if you can’t fix it, don’t ride it.
I’ve seen him all over town for many years. One day at the SuperStore bike rack I told him he was one of my heros and he really chewed me out about the common interpretation and our too easy acceptance of “heros” who are really villains. We later made amends when I gave him a 26″ X 1 3/8″ forty hole rim for his wheel rebuild.
Then there was the guy on the Marinoni. . . Eighty two yrs young who rode around world when his wife died. He still regularly rides to Hope and back in a day, solo.
3 Meg - Sydney // May 7, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Ah that’s awesome, I love quirky characters like that. That granny sounds classic!
4 Phat Lip Magee // May 15, 2009 at 11:27 am
There’s a guy in Baton Rouge, LA that has built a small chicken-wire cage on top of a couple of tall pvc pipe legs, in which his dog stands comfortably and enjoys the view. It’s a small dog, maybe 20 lbs, but it sits so high, it has to be difficult to maintain balance. He rides everywhere and I’ve never seen him without the dog.
5 Phat Lip Magee // May 15, 2009 at 11:32 am
http://www.225batonrouge.com/news/2008/oct/28/man-bikes-dog/
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