Biking - the new golf

Solon, my coworker, has been trying to get me to go biking with him for months. We finally did it. Around 21h00 after work Friday night, Solon, Lily and I met at Shilin Station and headed to Guandu. The scenery was beautiful! We rode on the bike path along Danshui River and I almost forgot that I was in Taipei. It brought back memories of jogging in the suburbs of San Francisco and riding my mama-chari (girlie bike with basket and bell) to Karate class in residential shitamachi Itabashi, Tokyo. When we got to Guandu Harbor, it started to rain, so we hid underneath some awnings with other bikers and chatted until I forgot that my butt hurt and everyone forgot what time it was. We chatted about work and we chatted about relationships and complained about our bosses. Solon is great with words and is so funny in an intelligent way. When we were talking about relationships, I said that I need someone who is interesting, has a lot to say, and is willing to listen to me talk. He said, "that's going to be hard. It's hard to beat a reporter when it comes to talking. And if he's got more to say than Michella the reporter, then he's probably exaggerating and lying as well." Hm. He may have a point. He's got a lot to say, is a good listener, but we're in the same industry, doing the same thing, and he's not my type. I need an artist or a musician or somebody in a world totally different from mine. Not so sure about investment bankers...

Biking was like the new golf for me Friday - bonding and socializing with coworkers. Aside from a sore butt and almost missing the pumpkin train home and going to bed at 2h00, it was good. We all had work the next day - Lily at 7h00, Solon at 8h30 and me at 9h30. It's impossible to find a time when we're all off the next day. That's the hard part about our jobs, but that's also the good part about it too. Not having a routine life is something I'm really enjoying right now.

After I started commuting to and from work on my Strida, I started paying more attention to bike-related things. So a few months ago, I wrote a proposal for a biking series which could be used for news or for general programming. I have no idea if it'll ever see the light of day, but it was good practice anyway.

Here are some other bike-related things I've seen on the Internet recently, for my biking friends.

Bloom in Action:

From the website: The Bloom device is meant to be a subversive and inspirational tool for our concrete jungles. Similar to the tuft of a dandelion as the wind carries the seedling, we propose a way of dispersing seedlings with bubbles and bicycling. Seeds are co-mingled with a bubble mixture and upon pedaling to your destination , you release the floating seeds which land in cracks and crevices throughout the city streets. Over time, the seeds grow into flowers and plants to create a green "fringe" to our sidewalks and streets.


Sound of Music:
From the website: Après le Walking Bike, cet accessoire original se fixe de chaque côté du guidon et reproduit le son d'une flûte ou d'un ocarina, grâce à l'air qui se précipite dedans. Une idée innovante par Joseph Kim, pour tous ceux qui aiment écouter de la musique y compris sur leur vélo.

Hand Wrench:


Walking Bike:

There's a video of it in action, too!

Rail Rider: