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07-20-08, 12:58 PM
Each weekend I like to explore some new road in my bicycle. Today I aimed for Sandy Creek park, a few miles north of Athens, GA, where I now live. It wasn't far to go, but I was unsure of the roads, and that's what would make the trip an adventure.
I went part of the way along a path next to the North Oconee River. The path brought me past the Sandy Creek Nature Center, which I paused to investigate. When I returning to the path, I saw an elderly couple that I had passed a few minutes before. The man was looking at me curiously, and he waved me over.
"You got a motor on that thing?" he asked as he scrutinized my Xtracycle rig.
"No motor," I explained, "just me."
He went on to talk about how his son had a bicycle that looked a lot like mine, with the frame extended. His son's bicycle had a motor, and he hauled all kinds of things with it. The man told me his son's name was Allen, and he knew a lot of people at the bike shops in Watkinsville. Did I know him?
I'm new to this area, and I had been to Watkinsville only on my way to someplace else. It seemed impossible that I would know this man's son. But I had recently noted that a fellow bikeforums member lived in Monroe, not far from Athens. This person had a lot of first-hand knowledge Xtracycle cargo bicycling. So I entertained the possibility of a coincidence.
"Your son's name is Allen? Is he from Monroe?" I asked.
"Monroe, Georgia. That's where we live."
I thought for a moment more, looking for something more definitive.
"Did he make a bicycle frame out of bamboo (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=405675)?"
The man smiled. "Yes he did. And one day he went down on a gravel path and the thing just came apart." He laughed. He seemed to think this was thigh-slappingly funny.
"I haven't met your son," I said, "but I know him from an internet discussion group."
"Oh yeah. He's always on that computer." He made the head-down-typing-away-at-the-keyboard gesture.
We conversed some more about bicycles, and he ended up giving me his card and inviting me to keep in touch.
How's that for internet/xtracycle/small town georgia serendipity?
I went part of the way along a path next to the North Oconee River. The path brought me past the Sandy Creek Nature Center, which I paused to investigate. When I returning to the path, I saw an elderly couple that I had passed a few minutes before. The man was looking at me curiously, and he waved me over.
"You got a motor on that thing?" he asked as he scrutinized my Xtracycle rig.
"No motor," I explained, "just me."
He went on to talk about how his son had a bicycle that looked a lot like mine, with the frame extended. His son's bicycle had a motor, and he hauled all kinds of things with it. The man told me his son's name was Allen, and he knew a lot of people at the bike shops in Watkinsville. Did I know him?
I'm new to this area, and I had been to Watkinsville only on my way to someplace else. It seemed impossible that I would know this man's son. But I had recently noted that a fellow bikeforums member lived in Monroe, not far from Athens. This person had a lot of first-hand knowledge Xtracycle cargo bicycling. So I entertained the possibility of a coincidence.
"Your son's name is Allen? Is he from Monroe?" I asked.
"Monroe, Georgia. That's where we live."
I thought for a moment more, looking for something more definitive.
"Did he make a bicycle frame out of bamboo (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=405675)?"
The man smiled. "Yes he did. And one day he went down on a gravel path and the thing just came apart." He laughed. He seemed to think this was thigh-slappingly funny.
"I haven't met your son," I said, "but I know him from an internet discussion group."
"Oh yeah. He's always on that computer." He made the head-down-typing-away-at-the-keyboard gesture.
We conversed some more about bicycles, and he ended up giving me his card and inviting me to keep in touch.
How's that for internet/xtracycle/small town georgia serendipity?