From two cars to one. To two. To one.

Shortly after Ginger moved back to Columbia and started riding her bike all over town, she sold her car. She hitched a ride with me once in a while when the need arose, and overall being a one-car couple was pretty easy. But when we found out we were going to be parents, my old Mazda sedan started to seem a bit small, outdated, and perhaps relatively unsafe. We bought a lightly used station wagon, but I loved my old sedan so we kept it around. I'd say it was probably a good decision, but in so doing, we reverted back to being a two-car family.

We've remained a two-car family for about three and a half years now, with all of the insurance payments, maintenance costs, and other expenses that go along with it. When we moved to Springfield back in October, we talked seriously about getting rid of my old Mazda, but procrastination prevailed and other issues took precedence. But now that we're trying to scrounge up some cash to buy a house, it seemed as good a time as any to go ahead and get rid of it. Our lifestyle certainly doesn't justify ownership of two cars, so I put the old girl up for sale. Late this morning, I watched her leave our driveway for the last time. I hope the new owners get as much enjoyment out of the old rig as I did; for the last 7 years it's required little more than routine maintenance and it's been a fantastic car.

Going from two cars to one is going to be a notable lifestyle change, albeit one that we've already made once before. It won't be as substantial a change as going car-less (I've always admired those who are brave and smart enough to go without a motor vehicle), but I think it will turn out to be a great decision for our small family. And, who knows, maybe this will give me the reason I've been looking for to buy a motorcycle.

The problem with Springfield

You guys are just way too nice, and it's starting to cause problems.

Just today, for example, I was waiting at a stop sign. It was sort of a tricky intersection - cross traffic did not stop, and parked cars lined both sides of the street, limiting my view of oncoming traffic. I was waiting on one last car to go by before crossing the road, but that one car slowed way down.

And then it stopped.

It had no blinker on, the car wasn't turning. It was just sitting there. I looked to the driver to see, you know, what the heck.

He very kindly waved me across the street in front of him. Srsly.

As I waved my gratitude and started ticking the pedals over I couldn't help but think how much simpler it would have been if he had just kept on going.

I mean, there are rules for a reason, right? When everyone obeys the rules of the road there's a sense of order, and everybody stays safe.

The thing is, kindnesses like this aren't rare. They are, in fact, quite common. Kind drivers - lots of them - have waved me through four-way stops when it was clearly not my turn, have hesitantly driven right behind me when there was plenty of room and opportunity to pass. This stuff happens way more often than encounters with rude, dangerous drivers.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather share the road with super-nice drivers who are extra aware of cyclists and go out of their way to show a little consideration than asshole drivers who go out of their way to harass us. We all appreciate kind gestures.

It's okay, though, to treat people on bikes just the same way you treat people in cars.

Rain shmain

Traditionally, I've been a total wuss when it comes to riding in the rain. Even with decent rain gear, it's hard to stay dry. And, once wet, the constant air movement sometimes does a great job of thoroughly chilling you to the point of misery. I travel by bicycle to work pretty much every day, and I've reached a point wherein driving a car feels unbearably like admitting defeat. So I'm trying to man up when it comes to bicycling in the rain.

I added fenders to my bike so that I could ride after a rain to keep the wet road grime off of me, but riding while rain is actually falling from the sky is something I've continued to avoid...until I had to do it a few times recently because I got caught in unexpected rain showers while riding home. In so doing, I realized that there are worse things than biking in the rain.

I normally carry a light waterproof windbreaker in my panniers, which helps keep me and my clothes dry in the case of a light shower. My primary concern, though, was my leather saddle getting wet, so I recently went out and bought myself an Aardvark waterproof saddle cover. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of sitting on a plastic shopping bag and I decided the Aardvark would look nicer and perform better. And at about $12 a pop, it's not a bad value. I've heard that the cover doesn't do well to keep the saddle dry if stored outside in drenching downpours, but then again, that's not what it's made for and that's not what I need it for. I just need something to keep the saddle dry when I slide off of it at stop lights. And this baby does just that (as I found out during a light rain as I rode home this afternoon).

I'm totally cruisin' for a brewsin'

Late last month, I caught a lucky break in having my mother-in-law in town to watch my son, which freed me up to attend the second-ever Cruisin' for a Brewsin' bicycle pub crawl. As an aside, I keep calling it a 'bike crawl,' but that seems inaccurate. We are not crawling from bike-to-bike. Instead we are crawling from pub-to-pub via bicycle. Therefore, 'bicycle pub crawl' seems a more apt description.

The event is held every third Thursday of the month until the end summer, which means the next one will be on July 18th. I didn't make it to the first Cruisin' for a Brewsin' in May, but I can tell you with certainty that the second one was totally badass. There were about 50 riders, and it was an awesome group of folks. We started at The Dugout (which seems to be a consistent thread for this event), then hit Lindberg's, Patton Alley, and Farmer's Gastropub. We spent about an hour at each spot, meaning that I was home and in bed by around 11 pm, which allowed me a good night's rest for work the next morning.

This month's schedule is posted on the Mother's Brewing Company website (they co-sponsor the event). It's set to start off at The Dugout at 6:15 pm, followed by Ebbets Field, Mother's, Skinny Slim's, then back to The Dugout.

It's bound to be a pretty rad time. I'll be there. You should too.