While reading a blog this morning, I found a hilarious true story that I think will interest a lot of you on this forum.
The story was written by a Bikeforums member who sometimes posts on the LCF forum. We know him as crtreedude. He lives in rural Costa Rica, where he and his wife run a finca that's involved with wood products and reforesting the rain forest for the benefit of the people who live there. He isn't carfree because he has to visit plantations all over the countryside, but crtreedude uses his bike as much as possible for work, play and daily errands. His blog posts reflect the happiness he finds in his work and his life.
Crtreedude gave me permission to post this, and he said he'd check in to respond to any questions or comments. He's doing great work down there for the environment and the local economy. Here's the story as it was originally posted in his blog:
Riding Bikes
Since I have been in Costa Rica, my inspiration for riding my bike is seeing so many people riding bikes of all ages — all ages of people, too. The skill level is incredible. Not for chicken hopping, of which I am the local king (they don’t have clipless pedals) but for the ability to ride a bike in the weirdest of possible combinations. Imagine the following: A woman 35 or so riding down the road and between her and the handle bar is a 3-year old sitting on a plank cut to fit snugly on the top tube. It is raining, so she is holding an umbrella with one hand and steering with the other. There is a bulky package dangling from one side of the handle bar. She isn’t riding on pavement, but on a challenging road made of river rock dumped on it and hammered into the sand and mud by traffic. For her, this is no big deal. The ones she considers skilled are the guys who commute to work with their wives. She sits on the plank in front of him. On the way, they are going to drop off the baby she holds in her arms at the sitter, and they will swing by the elementary school to drop off the kid standing behind Dad on the posts that stick out from the wheel hubs. No need for diamond lanes — cars give these bikepoolers a wide berth.
Most people here are small, but I have seen two ladies, each about 50 and each weighing more than 300 pounds, riding on a BMX — yeah, both of them on the same bike. One was pedaling, the other was standing on the posts. They were chatting and laughing the whole time.
Then there is the crazy old geezer around here who rips through town at 30+ kph (19+ mph) on a well-used Cannondale F900 hardtail. Today he caught up and passed two policemen on a motor scooter who waved and smiled at him as he passed. He is quite the sight, I am told, with his white hair whipping behind him and his legs spinning like crazy. I have never seen him myself, since I don’t look at my reflection in store windows as I pass…but I have heard the stories.
This story is found in crtreedude's blog called
"Life in the Campo: Reforesting and Living in the countryside of Costa Rica. Check there for many more interesting entries.