Dear Bike
I love you. I know I’m a little off my game this spring and that usually I’ve taken you out of the bike Cabana a long time before now. (Note to self: Don’t forget to buy a hanging basket of Bacopa to hang on the bike Cabana so you can call it “The Bacopa Cabana” all summer long. No matter what Joe says, that never stops being funny.)
This morning, as I washed your shiny red frame, I reflected on what a good summer we are going to have. I love driving you around the city, and I harbour a special fondness for riding you to the village, buying bread, wine and flowers and then riding home through the tree lined streets. It makes me feel fit, healthy, environmentally clever and to be completely honest….pretty good looking.
I’ll put my knitting in the basket and we’ll ride to the market and spend summer evenings knitting on the stoop at Lettuce Knit. We’ll go to the bookstore and through the park and I’ll blow right by all of those people stuck in traffic, the wind in my hair, and sunshine glinting off your (slightly bent from the time that I sort of rode into that really deep ditch in PEI) spokes.
Sometimes we’ll come back at night time from the other side of the city, and I’ll take College Street through Little Italy, with all the trendy people drinking on the patio at The Dip, and all the twinkle lights in the trees lit up over my head. I’ll never run out of gas (as long as we don’t count that wicked hill over by Casa Loma) and all my travel will be free for the next three months, and not paying any bus fare really frees up the yarn money. Riding is going to be so much fun that I won’t even really miss the TTC bus/subway knitting time.
What I like best, my sweet little ride, is that you grant me freedom to avoid engaging in the crush of humanity on the subway – like last night, when I was knitting my new sock
New sock. Plain vanilla pattern, Frobe Fibers sock yarn, colour “Random Tuesday”
…and this guy, who was as malodorous as he was insane, leant over my left shoulder and told me, loudly and with great ferocity, that I should stop knitting now while I was young, or else my intellect would be “used up and worthless” before I was 50. He advised me that there are limits, and I was going to exceed them.
(At least he thought I was a) young, and b) doing something that required intellect.) In response, I told him not to worry. That I had intellect to spare on knitting.
His response? He told me that there are birds trying to lay eggs in peoples hair in the Bathurst subway station.
Good tip. I’ll be on my bike.
Aw man, Now I TOTALLY want to get out my bike. Last time I did that was years ago and it ended horribly (bruised butt and road rash extraordinaire). But now if I add a basket and take my knitting with me, now THAT would be cool.
Bacopa Cabana is funny – at least a few times 🙂
Aren’t people just great though? Think of all the subway conversations you will miss.
is it true, am i the first to comment! (probably not,by the time i’m done typing this)I love the colors in that sock yarn. so bright, even though it’s wednesday.
is it true, am i the first to comment! (probably not,by the time i’m done typing this)I love the colors in that sock yarn. so bright, even though it’s wednesday.
Ooh, bike love! How sweet it is!
I have the problem of realizing that biking takes away a lot of my knitting-on-the-bus time… so I can’t give up bussing entirely, but I am enjoying the sweetness of spring rides.
Reading yesterday’s post, I was struck by your Canadianness – apologising for writing about an event in your own country! How… us 🙂
People on the subway say the most interesting things!
Yep, I get it. You like your bicycle. The reference to “the wind through your hair” is actually “the wind through the openings in your helmet”, right? Now be a good girl and tell Mummy what you spun yesterday and how it came out.
so *that’s* what happened to my intellect. it’s always in the last place you look.
For as many comments as I get along the lines of “oh, you’re a knittier . .” there are an equal number of “all you need is a rocking chair” (yes, please), “goes with your grey (I say silver) hair”, or my all-time favorite, “yeah, my grandmother used to do that crochet stuff. . .” No explanation of the fact that I don’t crochet makes a dent.
I wish you lived next door.
Don’t you just love strange people on the bus? And the really nutty ones can’t take a hint. Your new sock is VERY pretty 🙂
SIGH. I wish it was safe here in suburban Virginia to ride a bike around. Nothing here is close enough to walk to and the streets are way to dangerous to ride on with the Hummers and SUV’s everywhere running lights and cutting each other off ALL THE TIME! Sorry for the rant!
I hope you and the family have a beautiful summer. I would move to Canada in a second. DO they have any jobs for computer programmers in Toronto?
Don’t you just love strange people on the bus/subway (I ride the bus)? And the really nutty ones can’t take a hint. Your new sock is VERY pretty 🙂
Oh, that’s hysterical! From a safe distance.
Now you’re making me miss all the nutty conversations I used to have on BART when I lived in Berkeley. There were definitely times when it was nice to realize that as strange as some people think I am, there are people out there who are stranger — humans have such a range of options for behavior! Of course, after years of those experiences, I still tend to assume that anyone I see talking to themselves and gesturing madly must be a bit out of sync with everyone around them, and then I realize that they’re wearing one of those little cell phone headsets. It’s much more fun to assume that they’re well-dressed nutty people, though. 🙂
Regardless of what Joe thinks (and what the 4-5 people here I tried it on…) Bacopa cabana IS funny, and will remain funny. I wonder if I can build a cabana in the yard just to hang bacopa on it. Ian would not think it’s funny. Might be worth it…
Riding a bike in Atlanta is the same as jumping off a bridge. It’s a long way to go and it hurts when you get there. Pedestrians are fair game on our streets. The last time I rode a bike it took all of 15 seconds to get my high heel stuck in the pedal and quite gracefully, bust my arse in front of dozens of my coworkers. I have yet to live that down.
Earlier this week, while knitting a sock during a 3 1/2-hour wait for a Rheumatology appointment for shots to my arthritic hands, I had a gentleman sit beside me and tell me that his daughter (he looked to be younger than my dad, so I assume his daughter is younger than I) is just starting to knit socks also… Finally, recognition that it is no longer an ‘elder’ thing to do… BTW, I am only 40… wish me luck with the hands… I hope I never have to quit knitting, those shots to my joints KILL!!!! but are so worth it…
HAHAHAHA…I was expecting “you better stop knitting now or you’ll get carpel tunnel” not… “You’ll us eup all of your intellect”. HAHAHAHA Thank you Stephanie, you jump started my morning with a huge smile!!
This is a wonderful ode to your bike, worthy of Neruda himself, but with respect, I have to say I suppose the man on the subway has his reasons for warning others about the loss of intellect. He deserves some compassion from those who have it to spare.
i’m totally on track with you! i just dug my bike out this morning and rode from bathurst all the way to pape station. lucky i didn’t take the subway this morning for fear of those egg laying birds. motivation to keep riding! thank goodness the toronto summer is here.
Oh, I’m so envious of you and your bike. I don’t live somewhere where bike riding is an option (it would take me a long time to even get to town). Have a wonderful summer being happy and healthy.
Is that the same guy who rides the subway with Wendy Knits, or the guy from Crazy Aunt Purl’s bus? Maybe the knitting makes us look more approachable.
I knit in public today. It didn’t draw any freaks but I will try again tomorrow and report back.
Would appear that the “bath” in “Bathurst” may have been the precipitating factor.
Could we have a peek someday at the spreadsheet on which you keep track of which sock yarns you have publicly knit so you don’t appear to be playing favorites? It’s got to keep your vast personal staff occupied much of the time…
And Joe? Sweetie? I yield to no one in my admiration of you — I always maintain you’re my favorite fictional character — but you are wrong, wrong, wrong. “Bacopa cabana” is never gonna get old.
YES! That’s it, my loverly bike is coming OUT! We have miles and miles of perfectly-groomed bike paths here, and bike lanes on all the streets, and it’s VERY ill-advised to hit people on bikes. I’m going to have to work up to it (like – oh, half-a-block to start) but I’m inspired. And I’m going to get a basket for my knittin’ and books. And that sock? Makes my mouth water. Oh, and I’m getting a bus pass too — gasoline is more expensive than fancy perfume, ridiculous, and getting ridiculouser and ridiculouser. (I blame it all on Bush – along with my shingles.)
That’s exactly how I felt about my bike… until last week when I had to ride home from work (~3 miles) in a thunder-and-lightning rain and hailstorm. It’s hard to ride when one’s glasses don’t have windshield wipers, when one hand is raised over one’s head in a vain attempt to keep hailstones off of said head, and when the happy dry people in their gas-guzzling cars are splattering one with muddy water as they cruise past in their climate-controlled pods.
Not to rain on your parade (so to speak!), of course!
Ashley
“Bacopa cabana!” That will never lose its charm. When my son, who is now 32, was a toddler, he adored Barry Manilow. From the back seat of the car, he could be heard singing lustily, “At the Cocoa, Cocoa banana!” As I said, it never gets old!
Your sock looks like fairground cotton candy. Yum!
Having just recently (like in the last week) been introduced to Bacopa, I think it’s hilarious.
I am a bike wuss, and have been since the time I broke my leg getting OFF my bike when I was 10. Biking is quite popular in Brooklyn, but I’m too scared of the cards (not to mention the other bikers!) to do it get places! This really made me remember how lovely it is to bike around in the sun, though. Beautiful sock, too!
The last trip I took on public transport I had a delightful conversation with two oriental ladies in pidgin english about the sock, the yarn and how it was dyed, and why was an obviously gently bred lady doing something so low class as knitting? I explained that “It quiets my mind”
I like the bird egg thing. How nice that there are people whose drummers are so far outside the 4:4 time most people walk to
The last trip I took on public transport I had a delightful conversation with two oriental ladies in pidgin english about the sock, the yarn and how it was dyed, and why was an obviously gently bred lady doing something so low class as knitting? I explained that “It quiets my mind”
I like the bird egg thing. How nice that there are people whose drummers are so far outside the 4:4 time most people walk to
LMAO @ birdnests! Maybe that guy has it right, and that’s why I seem to get dumber with each passing day… It’s a good thing you have intellect to spare, because I am quickly running out.
Bacopa Cabana, very funny. My husband would make that joke all summer if we had a cabana. I wish it were safe to ride on the streets here in Los Angeles, it is sweet to ride a bike. But here we don’t even take the bus, I used to commute 15 miles on a bus and it was a 2 hour ride. sigh…
hmmm… I thought it was having three kids that are using up my intellect… who knew, it was my knitting?
hmmm… I thought it was having three kids that are using up my intellect… who knew, it was my knitting?
LMAO @ birdnests! Maybe that guy has it right, and that’s why I seem to get dumber with each passing day… It’s a good thing you have intellect to spare, because I am quickly running out.
What, you won’t miss smelly people who are off their meds talking their crazy in your ear?!
Ok, So what does the rest of the bumper sticker say? My other Vehicle is a …. WHAT!!!???
Love the sock, and congrats on getting the bike out.
(Yes, Joe, The Bacopa Cabana never stops being funny!)
Do take care to avoid the taxis on College!
“Random Tuesday”? That yarn should be called Cotton Candy. Bacopa cabana…ha,ha…good one! But be careful about too much word play, it may be using up your intellect!
See!! If we moved to Toronto my poor little bike would get used! AHA!Add it to pros list!
Don’t you love the TTC?
Bikes in Toronto rock. Queen W by any other method is torture. I sort of contemplated doing the yarn crawl by bike but that would defeat the sociability/publicity factor.
I try to ride here in Seattle all year long, although I wimp out if the temps dip below 30 or if the wind is more than 20 mph. I almost got slammed into a parked car by a rogue wind gust once.
I hope the wind is blowing through the hair that is hanging under your bike helmet. I went head-first into a fence post on the local bike trail a few years back, and there was a monster crease across the top of my helmet when I took it off. It would have been an ugly scene without it, now I wear one whenever I hop on my bike, even if I’m just going up the street.
I knit on the bus. Once, a drunk that was sitting across from me woke up, asked what I was doing, and when I said that I was knitting a sock he loudly proclaimed “Next time I want you to knit me a washcloth. Okay? A WASHCLOTH.”
*sigh* The last time I rode a bike was at least 4 years ago, before I had my last kid. At Burning Man. In fact, the only place I’ve consistently ridden my bike, since I was 12, is Burning Man!
There are bike lanes galore here, but for a timid cyclist like myself, it’s scary out there! Too many fast, uber-competent people on $5K bikes for me.
BUT, your post is making me think maybe I’ll go dust the ol’ Target Special off and try again.
Oh, and “Bacopa Cabana”? Totally hilarious.
I’m with you – loads of bike love & knitting love here!
And ya just gotta love our wonderful Toronto public transit that lets us have both: a bike rack on buses for those “too-long/hard-to-bike-the-whole-way” trips when we can sit on the bus & knit. What more could you ask for (except maybe a little more distance from the oderous ones)?
Lovely bike, lovely bacopa cabana, lovely spring fun, and SOCK! Way to go.
and I can tell that your other car is a spinning wheel, non? Bien sur!
If only our summers were that mild….
so I’m curious, what does your bike cabana look like? I’m a budding bicycle commuter myself, still relying heavily on the bus, tho.
Yay bikes! I biked to work for the first time last week, and I think I’m addicted.
My bike, which is sitting in its prime parking location in my office, winked its tiny headlight at yours in solidarity.
I LOVE biking around Dartmouth and Halifax, especially crossing the bridge over the harbour – it makes me feel like I’m flying – except all the hills, which make me feel like I’m crawling on my hands and knees, begging my lungs not to explode.
Omigod don’t move – is that an egg in your hair?
my latest KIP/bus comment was…
“do you know that what you’re doing is now considered an art?”
even so.
and your socks have hearts bursting with love to cuddle up with…beautiful.
I’m officially flabbergasted by that dude’s comment!! I would have countered that engaging in mind-bending activities is considered one of the best ways to prevent aging of all sorts. But you have a good point on the pros of his remark!
Don’t know if you read The Sartorialist but he confirms your theory that ladies on bikes are pretty hot!
http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/
Ah…biking. You are inspiring me to pull my bike out, de-spider it (well, get my husband to de-spider it), put air in the tires, and take it out for a spin. It’s too bad the roads (and drivers) around here are not bicycle-friendly. Happy riding!
I love that sock yarn.
I’ve got socks at various stages, but don’t want to finish them because I’m teaching a sock class and need to have socks at stages for demos.
(So now I’m working on the loom. And hoping the nice weather holds so I can sit in the backyard and do some stuff to sell.)
What’s Bacopa? Bacopa Cabana is funny to me and so is Cocoa Banana. And I’m with the other person–please tell me you wear a helmet. Talk about using up your intellect!
Nobody turns a hair when I knit in public. Darn.
I need to go knit and quiet my mind.
One of the many things I miss out on by living in the country is that there is little opportunity to bike around town in the evenings and do all the fun things you list. City evenings can be very nice. I do go down to the river to work on my projects at noon though.
Country living has its own perks too.
You just can’t beat bike riding in the summer. And it keeps you away from the crazies! Gotta love mass transit.
Your other vehicle is a … what?
Every spring I say I’m going to buy a bike. And I go to the fancy bike store and see the retro Schwinns and their $600+ price tags, and I go home. I did buy a bike once. And a bike rack so that I could take it home. And no one at the big box store could tell me how to put the rack on my car. I had to return the whole thing.
I wouldn’t diss the subway too much – or it might rain for a month. At least you have one. St. Louis is so backward when it comes to public transportation.
Ah, the joys of public transportation. Unfortunately you can’t ride a bike across San Francisco Bay (unless you are very religious or live in Marin County), so I’ll have to stick to BART. No worries, my sock drawer owes most of it’s contents to BART time.
You are coming up with some lovely sock yarns I’ve never heard of. Love hearing about new sources of sock yarn! This one is a bit tie-dyesque. Very cool. I hope the socks are for you. Tie-dye will suit someone who has used up most of her intellect while young.
“Bacopa Cabana” LOVE it! I need a bacopa and a cabana. Lovely sock. I haven’t ridden my bike since I became pregnant with my first child, ten years ago. Maybe I will go out and look at it…………..
There is an amusing irony of someone telling you, of all people, that knitting uses up intellect. Actually, I think it creates it!
I think it’s funny.
There is an amusing irony of someone telling you, of all people, that knitting uses up intellect. Actually, I think it creates it!
Your subway buddy was telling you the same thing that people here have been telling you for some time now!
That “there are limits,” and that you are “going to exceed them.”
He no doubt reads knitting blogs, although I am a bit concerned for his lack of regard for the four double-ended pointy things you had in your hands.
(If you had a side-car and chauffeur for your bike, you could still knit while using that mode of transport. Just sayin’.)
Take care,
Janey
If you do end up calling it the Bacopa Cabana all summer, you give up all rights to mock Joe for his belief in the hamster sense of humour.
i miss my bike too.
i have to look all presentable-like when i arrive at my current (corporate) job. *sigh* i miss the nonprofit consulting days of 7 mile bike rides (each way) to work… i was healthy, outside, and loving every minute of it (cursing it, of course, on the humid days now and again.. 🙂
ok…this is one of my favorite posts EVER! Here’s why:
1. I haven’t owned a bike since I was 13, but I have been seriously considering it lately. You make it sound so romantic that I feel I can ignore the nagging thought that I will probably hate myself for the first few weeks of riding.
2. Crazy people make me smile, as long as I don’t have to actually interact with them.
3. One of my college roomies and I still refer to Random Tuesday on occasion. This was a fun filled evening involving left over Jello shots. Guess what she is getting for Christmas!
*Sigh* that’s one thing I’d love about living in town or in a city — the ability to bike or walk to where I need/want to go. Unfortunately, a car is a necessity for me (and it is! I am not biking 20 miles to work on the side of a heavily used main road that has NO shoulder due to the ledges that the road is carved through. Sorry.) But, I am proud to say I know how many bales of shavings (for the horses) I can fit in my little Subie wagon (5), how many boards (12 2x6s at 8′ long), how much the roof-rack will hold, and how many SUVs I can pass in the winter when the roads are awful (tons!)
The sock, the bike, the idiot! Are these supposed to divert us from wondering what the results of Spinning Tuesday were? Did a loss of intellect cause you to go biking instead of spinning? Do tell!
Losing intellect from knitting definitely implies that knitting is an intellectual pursuit. In my case, can’t lose what one doesn’t have much of—explains my occasional poor knitting results.
PLEASE tell us that you wear a biking helmet. Bike accidents are really sure ways to lose intellect.
BTW, lovely, yummy sock!
Funny how after being here (Montreal) for 10 years and loving it, I read today’s post about riding around Toronto and got quite nostalgic–not even my own family and old T.O. buddies can make me feel this sad about moving away from that huge Megalopolis! But I am returning to Represent and yarn crawl with y’all this weekend! Can’t wait!! Cheers!!
That is too damn funny. And a bit scary. Glad you have the bike.
That yarn is captivating, I can just feel the softness. The colors looks like the old two-stick popsicles.
I love the way your socks are pooling. They look so happy to be introduced to your bike!
Crazy people on public transportation are entertaining, but usually more so in hindsight than as it’s happening…
Ah, there’s a fresh crop of crazies on the subway every year. I used to adore the glue sniffer and his friend Mr Gas. Nothing clears a subway car faster than someone who is emitting FUMES.
Happy riding.
Good to know about the birds, I’ll be careful next time I’m in the neighborhood. 😉
And does that bumper sticker say “My Other Vehicle is a Spinning Wheel”? Just a guess, but the big wheel on the sticker kinda looks like it is a spinning wheel to me…if so, I’m sure all the knitters at Lettuce Knit are jealous of your bike flare, cause it’s flipping sweet. Gosh!
that guy is too funny. I think my gut response to this guy would be “I see you didn’t even need to knit to obtain that loss of intelect that you say that I’ll lose” – HA HA HA
Ah, silly Subway Man. He probably thought he was being helpuful.
Best wishes to you and your bike. I try to strive for the same cosmopolitain flair as a pedestrian, although I have to admit that this is much easier to do when the sidewalks aren’t clogged by people waiting to get IN to The Dip. 😉
Nice socks, too!
Last night for me was a mouth-breathing-only night on the train.
And this morning? 150 9-year-olds. Ah, public transit.
excuse me…hamsters *don’t* have sense of humour?
Loving the socks.
Oh man, you forgot to tell him that the whole loss of intellect is only applicable to crocheting! *ducks to avoid flying crochet hooks*
Sometimes, I feel as though we’re twins (only you’re the smarter and infinitely more talented one). I have the same romantic feelings about getting around town on a bike (although I could easily be persuaded to trade this in for an equally charming Vespa fantasy…) I have a spiffy little 1965 Huffy Sportsman named “Blue Belle.” (Am I frightening you yet?) We like to take trips to farmer’s market together, and of course, the LYS. No cool milk crate on the back, though. Just a basket up front. Now you’ve got me thinking about how a crate would hold more yarn (like I said, you’re the smarter one…)
ha I just want to know what Vicki was doing on a bike wearing high heels?? Oh the brilliance we lose as we knit our intellect away. We better quit now while we still have a chance! I can hardly spell as it is!
I had that same Huffy bike as a kid. I asked for it for my birthday after seeing an ad in a magazine. Does yours still have the plastic flower garland on the basket?
I still have traces of a scar on my left elbow from learning to turn around on gravel driveways. I never got very good at riding a bike. Definitely not good enough for the hills of downtown Seattle. But I love to walk and I’ve found the folks on buses here relatively tame — at least compared to when I bussed to work in San Francisco in my youth.
There is a monthly take-back-the-streets bike even during downtown rush hour here. About 3 solid blocks of bikes in the winter and 5 in the summer. Unfortunately, they do not yield for pedestrians so I have a mixed relationship with them.
I have a feeling Stephanie is the daring type that doesn’t always wear her helmet although she does own one. The sock is very cotton candy colored. I like the Bacopa Cabana idea. Ignore Joe on that one if you like.
Be happy those of you who have public transport. Here we have gravel roads and farm machinery which are wider and noisier than Hummers. (We also have semis on narrow roads with no paved shoulders.)
Considering I’m supposed to have at least 500 miles in before Ragbrai in July (Check out [ragbrai.org] if you want to know what I mean.) my bike is my best friend and knitting time eater. Looking forward to the days when my DH is up to front seating the recumbent tandem and I can knit and ride. Happy Knitting, Alice
That guy on the subway was half right about the birds (pigeons) in Bathurst Station; they *are* a potential hair-hazard, but not because of eggs.
Yuck.
I’ve always said crazy can be fun, as long as it’s not dangerous.
Clearly, he was speaking in code. He was trying to tell you those were a smart pair of socks. I think perhaps we shall overlook his birds’ eggs in hair comment as sheer effrontery. You had used conditioner that day.
What insanity! I’m glad you have such a pleasant alternative.
If you ever go Samurai, and you are feeling dishonorable, and you need to commit hari-kiri? You can come ride your bike in Baton Rouge.
After TWO knee injuries caused by trying to commute in our city full of SUVs? I hung up my bike several years ago. Sad.
Does that anti-knitting guy have black hair cut like Prince Valiant? If so, I finally know what happened to Crazy Dave, a local loony who thought the CIA had put a tracking device in his brain, but they couldn’t find him as long as he put tinfoil inside his hat. He used to hang out in coffee shops and comment on your activities — knitting, reading, eating pie — whatever you were doing, the CIA was somehow involved. He once told me that the CIA had deliberately infected sheep with anthrax, and I would get it from knitting with wool, and that I was endangering everyone around me.
I told him it was safe because it was Candian wool (Koigu). I even showed him the label on a skein. That calmed him down a little.
I wish Lettuce had been there when I was in Toronto (late 80’s), I used to walk down Spadina to the market & felt like a queen because I could get most everything I needed without getting on a bus/subway/streetcar & being stuck in traffic, on Spadina or Bloor.
Well hooray for the bike. And random tuesday yarn? Wow.
Look out for low-flying birds.
If you ever have to send the trusty steed “out to pasture”, I highly recommend the Townie by Electra as a very worthy ride. Not only is it a very comfortable seat, the handlebars are positioned at a natural sitting height. This has been great on my lower back which was bothered by the position for steering other bikes. And I love the clip on/off basket my family gave me last mother’s day. Great for knitting/grocery/extra water bottle transport. My Townie and I are off to find some cotton candy yarn….
Bike commuters of the world unite!
I bike 10 or so months out of the year. Of course I only live 2 miles from work and 3 from the LYS. Philadelphia is world class for bikes. We have a huge bike population and bike lanes in the major parts of the city.
I figure the risk of playing with traffic and getting ‘doored’ equals out my lower risk of getting heart attacks from lack of exercise.
Now we all need to knit something for our bikes. Frame tube cozies? Pedal protectors? Felted panniers?
This has been my mantra all day – I LOVE MY BIKE! I got a new one last night! nothing better than skipping the T and riding past the guy changing the gas price AGAIN. Still waiting for the Harlot Yarn Bike Tour this summer- sign me up.
Tailwinds only to you!
Arrrgh! Now I have Barry Manilow stuck in my head. “her name was Tina, she was a showgirl…”
Home to town: 14 miles down a narrow country road, little shoulder, speedy drivers. Town: you take your life in your hands to bike or walk there with no sidewalks and the streets screamin’ with SUVs filled with harried moms trying to get Junior to his next activity. Besides, I’m too old and well, my intellect isn’t what it used to be!
Lovely sock, nice yarn, cool colors.
Thou art braver than I with the bike. Granted mine just about killed me when I was 8, and didn’t even have the decency to get scratched in that accident.
Many years later we have bought me a new bike that I occasionally take around the neighborhood. It is mostly for camping (the RV kind) trips these days though.
No weirdos have bothered me while knitting in public. Just one lech checking me out while his kids were with him. Gr.
Joe – if the Bacopa Cabana is not amusing, perhaps we could send you out with my DH, who will once again be spreading discarded feathers from his Macaw, along the Bruce Trail, for the
mis-edification of hikers.
Gotta love public transportation!
I think we know the same weirdo… I mean “guy” on the TTC. Yep. Thanks for coming out dude, not gonna stop the knitting.
Love the bike tour – perfect day for it too.
Hurrah for the bike – mine came out last week for the trip to the station and I love the feeling of cutting past all of the queues at the traffic lights and the pedestrian crossings which don’t cross the bike lanes. Not loving the hill through the village at the end of the trip home so much! Practice makes muscles (so I’m told)!
Push those limits and ride like the wind!
Bacopa Cabana is totally funny!!
I admire people who are at ease biking around on busy roads with cars and trucks and their inattentive, uncaring drivers. It scares the willies (and woolies) out of me – hence my rollers. I love riding on the safety of my back deck. It’s not as romantic sounding as your travels, but my mind remains intact; I’ll take what I can get!! LOL
I had a blackbird (male) LAND in my hair yesterday. DD thinks he was interested in my hair clip. Very unnerving. I scolded him and he just shrugged as if my words didn’t matter…
DD and I are pondering buying new used bicycles this summer, her to ride to high school and me to see if I can see well enough to ride the way I used to. Fingers (and eyes) crossed.
I so wish there was a way to put 4 kids on my bike and ride it around after I had to put gas in the car and I saw how much weight I put on over the winter. And no matter what Joe says Bacopa Cabana is funny and you should say it all summer long.
I love, love, love the sock!
Uh oh. 50 is a lot closer for me than it is for you. I guess I’d better knit while I still can.
It’s true – biking makes you pretty! I enjoy(ed) commuting the 2 miles to the office, but people who love me forbid it since I told them what brakes-locking-up-behind-me sounds like.
Loss of intellect secondary to knitting? Hm. I always thought that was caused by light beer.
Hooray for the bicycle! I’ve been riding my bike to work every day for over a month now. Boy did I miss it over the winter. I really need a basket though, for the knitting of course!
Bacopa Cabana . . . I think it should be emblazoned on a shirt!
Bacopa Cabana is funny and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. 🙂
I have wanted a bike for a few years now… A nice blue one with white fenders and a hand woven basket on the handle bars… Alas, there is no storage for a bike in a condo. I will live vicariously through your wonderful riding experiences.
Love the new yarn! Very cute! How’s the sweater and the hysteria? Hope things are calming down… At least a bit.
Well, you’ve got to admit we’ve made *some* progress – he certainly wasn’t taking the tack that knitting was a suitable womanly occupation because it doesn’t strain our tiny minds!
Boy, I’m glad I didn’t run into him when I was taking the bus to spinning classes at night, hitting our rather infamous Burnside St. both ways, with all the street people out in force for the evening. You ever tried explaining a spinning wheel on the bus to a persistent drunk? 😉 (The rest of the muggles were equally baffled, not to mention the bus drivers; but the drunks were *persistent*.)
This just remind me I really need to clean and oil my bike. I use it all around the year here. Mostly to go to the train station on the working days. But not when it rains or snows. I prefer to walk in this case.
Beth K, We have three kids aged 6, 3 and 1. 6 ride her own bicycle. 3 has a walking one, and go on the back seat of his father when he is tired, and 1 travels in the kid’s wagon, behind his father (who is way more sportive than I am, and VERY fit and beautiful, thanks to his bike!) or behind me, when I am alone (though in this case, I often choose to walk. I am a very good walker, but not so used to bike. The problem is my bottom, you see…) 😉
Too funny – that guy is a definite ya-hoo….
Absolutely love the socks! Enough to order that yarn promptly!
Perhaps the gentleman spoke from experience about loosing intellect to knitting? One sock too many and look what happens. And it was nice of him to warn you about the nesting birds. Imagine what could have happened had you not known.
Oh! Fun yarn!
Why is it that weird guys on Subways/Trains are always so much smarter than everyone else? Something tells me that he has no idea of the skill and patients required for knitting. Incidentally, it’s good to know that birds are trying to lay eggs in people’s hair… stay away from them, right?
Bacopa Cabana? PRICELESS!
Guy on subway? LOONY BIRD!
Ah, now I really *must* get a bike trailer to take the tots out for bike rides. Great post!
Ooh – I want a bacopa cabana … and that will never be not funny … sorry Joe!
The things I miss out on by living in the ‘burbs! Being able to get everywhere by bike, KooKoo for Cocoa Puffs subway riders…
Thank you for the laugh I needed that.
Finally got out for a good longish ride (18K) today while the baby was sleeping. It dawned on me, as I saw the sign for Woodbine Park, that the Naked Sheep was nearby.
I would have been remiss if I had come home without any yarn, what with being that close to a yarn shop and all.
I love, love, love my bike. Last time I rode any distance was last June when I was five months pregnant. It’s easier now.
Joe’s wrong; it never really stops being funny.
I am adoring about my bike, too. Never fails to put me in a good mood.
Poor man. I wonder if he attributes his problems to some youthful activity that used up his intellect. He knows on some level he’s lost the capacity for rational thought, and he doesn’t have the capacity for rational thought to understand how it happened that he lost his capacity for rational thought.
Not that I think you should foresake the bike and stick with the subway to serve as an object of concern for the deranged. But I guess I feel a little sympathy for him, and like to think he was trying to be helpful.
You have to put the Bacopa in the basket…then you can sing the song as you ride your bike…which is probably better than the song I always sang when riding my bike . . . the witch theme from the Wizard of Oz, although Queen’s Bicycle song is hard to beat.
Before my bike had a house fall on it in a flood (really–well actually it was a trailer), I used it to get around and haul everything–gallons of paint, 2x4s, rocking chairs.
I love the vision of you riding your bike around Toronto with knitting and baguettes.
YES, bacopa cabana IS funny!! Women with yarn ALWAYS look GOOD; whether on a bike or walking–it’s a yarn thing!
O.K. So I’m officially giving notice that I WILL be at the Canadian Launch. I’ve managed to tie it in with a business venture where my husband drives me down to Coxwell and after we complete our duties at the Metro Licensing Office I get to head over to the Manulife Centre and REPRESENT!! I’m hoping to round up some others to join me, but I’m sure to find a friend or two there! You signed my other three books last year at your birthday party and I’m looking for a complete set now.
See you Friday, Lynn
p.s. I REALLY enjoyed this book—it was a lot of fun!
It’s a great time for bikes – I’ve just gotten myself a new pump and lights since I bike to knitting in the evenings… and seems like a great time to get off the subway, but man, the conversational gems you will miss!
OK, you have me snorting with laughter. And reminded me why I haven’t gotten rid of my bikes, although they haven’t been ridden in years, since I moved to a house on top of a very steep hill. Starting off is fine, but getting back up this hill at the end of a ride has challenged every mortal who ever tried it. But I have the most beautiful and extraordinary bike basket that I had to have from Japan. I saw it in a bike repair shop there where no one spoke English. Negotiated the darn thing, succeeded, then had to transport it back home on the plane. I always forget that part when I HAVE to have something. It is tiny black mesh, largish, lightweight, elegant, and most practical.
Anyway, just love your subway guy’s comments. BUT, whatever happened to your neighbor the madwoman in the bra and panties who shouted at you in the street???? I have always wondered about her.
You manage to find the loveliest yarn!
I’ll introduce malodorous man to the lovely elderly gentleman I met at Barnes and Noble today who admired my Log Cabin afghan in progress. Elderly gentleman loved that I was knitting and taking on a big project and said, “It makes me batty when people complain about being bored! There are so many things to do and learn, like your knitting!” 🙂
When a guy tells you you’re young and smart, buy him a beer!! Even if you’re married, it’s still nice to hear now and again 🙂
Malodorous insanity! Knitting creates intellect! I want to know more about the birds in Bathurst Station!
I too love my bike. I’ve ridden it a little over 300 miles since April 1, and I’m still not bored.
Hey, the cabana has bikes in it! It’s a bike bacopa cabana! And no, that never gets old.
“Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl…” 🙂
I wonder if the fella was speaking from experience…..sounds like he was a tad short of intellect himself. Just sayin’
Stephanie, you crack me up! I’m sorry I won’t see you in Petaluma, since I will be in Denver on that day, but in a totally knitterly random act of kindness I gave my ticket away to a lone knitter in the yarn shop the other day. I tried not to cry (outloud anyway). I will using my intellect in Denver to catch up on my sock knitting between staff meetings. 🙂 PattiO
And this is exactly why riding the bus/train/subway is fodder for writing. It is never dull, always changing, and forever entertaining.
I love riding my bike and in my climate in the middle of California, we can ride bikes almost the entire year. (Riding in pouring rain is not too neat.)
Very cute and arty of you to have your bikes in the cabana…bacopa cabana is great.
could you please point me to your basic sock recipe????
Ah, the malordorous subway riders with loose connections to reality. But on another note, there is an article in the New York Times food section today about NY restaurants that sell poutine! And to think that a couple years ago I wouldn’t have had a clue. A winery/shop in Western NY (where I was a week ago) had a sign for cheese curds – I would have bought some – but alas, they were out.
I miss my bike..unfortunately we live on a gravel road, and there’s no where to ride to anyway.
..I was flipping through a knitting magazine and discovered a Moth-Resistant Yarn! It’s called “Nettle Yarn” and is 100% nettle fiber, from Frabjous Fibers. It’s not wool, but it’s not acrylic, either!
Letter to my bike:
Dear Bike,
I am sorry we don’t have a proper cabana so you currently live on the deck. That naughty little squirrel nearly knawed off your front reflector, and I hope the tin foil deters him from completing the job.
Let’s go on a date this weekend to the Farmer’s Market. I bet some flowers would look festive in your basket.
Your friend,
Meem
p.s. Stephanie– PLEASE put your head in a brain bucket! (maybe you need one on the subway as protection from eggs…)
To which I have to day, did you call up your local mental hospital and ask if they were missing anyone?
To which I have to say, did you call up your local mental hospital and ask if they were missing anyone?
To which I have to say, did you call up your local mental hospital and ask if they were missing anyone?
basic sock recipe: I’m an idiot. found the post where you mention where it is, and I have the book – duh, me. carry on steph…
Whenever I’m accused of talking to myself–and I do it often, particularly when I’m alone in the car–I tell people I’m just needing a little intelligent conversation. Shuts ’em up real quick!
I miss my bike. Too many crazy people walking about campus for it to be safe. (Yeah, I know – that doesn’t make sense. Until you see people walk into the stree without ever looking and we wonder why so many students get hit by cars.)
Sounds to me he lost his intellect a long time ago. You know, about the amount of time it takes a person to become really smelly.
I love Bacopa Cabana … it is the Hotest Spot North of the Van(ah). (do you have a mini van? – If so, we can work out a whole buncha lyrics that will dleight and amuse/disturb your Joe!) If you have no mini van — maybe it is the hottest spot north of verandah.
It can all work!
H
Ha! I would have stabbed him with a DPN, but then again, I have a mean streak. I know that somewhere lodged in my brain is a witty remark about your love letter to your bike…but it’s late, and as I said, it’s lodged. I really wish I could ride my bike to work, but….11 miles. hmmm, nope.
I’ve been shopping for a new bike for the summer. I’m hoping to get in good enough shape to be able to zip around Eugene some. At least to meet Anthony (my cute muggle) for lunch at the park. I’m lucky I live in such a bike friendly town.
Love the yarn.
Ah the Toronto Subway…. good times.
Tonight in Detroit while driving through the ghetto I saw a guy grab a Midget’s bum. She then proceeded to beat the tar out of his leg. I kid you not – I couldn’t make that up!
Don’t you just love cities?
Just going to through something out here and you can take it or leave it. Forget the basket and get a bike trailer. Mine will carry up to 100 pounds and although I have a 40pound son and a 15pound daughter, I can still get around with a pretty hefty load of yarn. Seeing as how your girls are old enough to ride there own bikes, you’ve got it made. Now imagine getting your girls to haul trailers behind there’s.
Just going to throw something out here and you can take it or leave it. Forget the basket and get a bike trailer. Mine will carry up to 100 pounds and although I have a 40pound son and a 15pound daughter, I can still get around with a pretty hefty load of yarn. Seeing as how your girls are old enough to ride there own bikes, you’ve got it made. Now imagine getting your girls to haul trailers behind there’s.
Haha, bacopa cabana. I like it, too! I’m a big fan of wordplay, and that’ll make me giggle for a little while. 🙂
Wow, that’s an interesting, erm, conversation. Silly Muggles….
I’ve got to dust off my bike and get out there, there’s only a few safe places to bike ride here without fear of being run over by 4 wheel drives.
My brother in law swears that the Catholics spit on him, perhaps he’s friends with the guy in the subway…
Ah yes! The joys of taking the TTC. Since I live outside of Toronto now, I rarely have to use the subway (which I actually like) but I can recall MANY interesting trips on it.
Hey, you guys up at 2:45 and 2:55, I had that same bike same year, although, my folks didn’t spring for the much-coveted flower basket. But I did get the cereal-boxtops-redemption Tony The Tiger rubber handlebars. And I splatted that bike zooming around a blind turn down a hill and into an oncoming car. Sprained my wrist but worried rather about my handlebars.
My daughter at 13 broke her helmet, rolled, and then still had enough force going to break her shoulder. But her head wasn’t damaged. Her school kept the helmet on display to show Why We Wear Bike Helmets.
Ba in Hebrew is a prefix meaning in. So Bacopa Cabana, well you get the gist…
Ba in Hebrew is a prefix meaning *in*. So Bacopa Cabana, well you get the gist…
Ah, cycling is lovely. Especially now I live somewhere a bit flatter (except for one big hill) than where I grew up! I can cycle into Oxford in about 45 minutes which is much more pleasant than 20 minutes on the sickly making bus.
I have no idea what a cabana is (some sort of shed/gazebo type thing) though the Bacopa Cabana joke is truly funny.
Ah, cycling is lovely. Especially now I live somewhere a bit flatter (except for one big hill) than where I grew up! I can cycle into Oxford in about 45 minutes which is much more pleasant than 20 minutes on the sickly making bus.
I have no idea what a cabana is (some sort of shed/gazebo type thing?) though the Bacopa Cabana joke is truly funny.
On the NYC Subway, I have been accused of needlepointing, crocheting, and weaving – all the while I was knitting a sock.
Rider on the #2 train: Socks are cheap, lady. Why are you knitting them?
Me: I’m allergic to mass-produced socks.
Rider (nodding sagely): Bummer.
My neighborhood is beautiful and I’d love to ride a bike through it but with my balance issues it would haave to be an adult tricycle which would decimate the yarn money for years to come. I’ll stroll!
On the NYC Subway, I have been accused of needlepointing, crocheting, and weaving – all the while I was knitting a sock.
Rider on the #2 train: Socks are cheap, lady. Why are you knitting them?
Me: I’m allergic to mass-produced socks.
Rider (nodding sagely): Bummer.
My neighborhood is beautiful and I’d love to ride a bike through it but with my balance issues it would haave to be an adult tricycle which would decimate the yarn money for years to come. I’ll stroll!
Bacopa Cabana. Always funny. Always.
Anybody ever tell you that you knit a lot of socks?
Ahhh Harlot- you’re yarn stealing mind tricks will ot work here… good try though- posting tempting pictures of a bike and knitting— your temptation to tes my hand-free bike riding skills while knitting will NOT get you my stash when I die crashing into a parked car…
For- even I, mistress of driving while knitting, would never knit while biking….
Well- maybe with a cute basket to hold my yarn on the handlebars….
But I could ride to this great park near my house…and knit there;)
What a scary thought… both the birds and knitting after 50.
Well, being 51 and still working on socks, I can offer some reassurance.
Not sure about Bathurst. Stick to the bike.
(Happy cycling and wishing you considerate motorists.)
kookoo
Ohhhhhh that sock yarn! Yummmmmmy! Steph ya make me want to mount a bike and go…but I live in the desert…whole different set up…however no matter what Joe says…The Bacopa Cabana is freakin’ funny!!!! Ya gotta do it! giggle giggle.
I would love to see a picture of your bike in all its glory. I just took up riding again after a long hiatus. I ride through dirt, rocks, sand, on pavement, etc., anywhere I can. Right now they are chip sealing our road – oil, crushed gravel, many machines with lots of noise and smell. Biking does take away some knitting time but is so much fun.
I got my bike 3 years ago when my daughter was a year old…the bike and a burley to take her around in. Now I have TWO toddlers and they are getting VERY hard to bike anywhere. they are going to need to start peddling. But I digress…
There were better bikes that day, for the same price. There were prettier bikes (I’m not so into powder blue). But once I rode this one, there WAS no other bike for me. I call him Zephyr, and we do ride…….
Also, I met Superman on the bus once in Milwaukee. He informed me that Superman was also actually Santa Clause AND the Easter Bunny. I asked him how he managed to deliver all those presents xmas eve, and he came back with a highly intelligent answer, which I won’t detail here. I was impressed. Crazy? yes. But clever. I actually enjoy talking with people who are a “bit off”. Gives one a new perspective on reality. *grin*
I don’t own a bike, but I want to get one now after reading this post! And I LOVE The Bacopa Cabana – if you had a banana in there it wold be the Bacopa Cabana Banana….. OMG I have to go and change my knickers now I am laughing so hard….
Do you think this man was somehow related to the new lady living down the street? You know the one who came after you in a rather simple outfit?
You know, I wouldn’t discount what he says about the Bathurst Station. I never once entered that station without some very… errr.. “mentality creative” person talking me up. It wouldn’t surprise me if even the birds there were a little off. It’s like the Bermuda Triangle of the TTC.
I’m jelous of your biking abilities. I’m about 5 or so miles from work, but it’s not bike friendly. I’m also chicken about putting it on the bike rack on the buses.
I love my bike, but I haven’t been able to ride it since I moved (18 months ago), so my mom is borrowing it for the time being.
Bleeding heart and socks, lovely. You make me want to live in a flat city. Biking in SF is a grueling affair.
Heddy has something going here! We (well, not me) could re-write the lyrics to the song and sing it tomorrow at the Toronto Represent! That would be a laugh!
Guess I need to think about getting a bike again and getting moving. The mental picture of a bike basket with wine, bread, cheese, flowers, a picnic blanket – and some knitting – is enough to make me take this seriously!
Chris
oh goodness…I snorted when I read about the laying eggs deal. I definitely need a bike. Don’t know where I’d ride it to — there are just so many hills in my area — but I’d love to be able to bike around with my kids this summer.
Hmmmm. If you can ride your own bike, maybe I….
No. Thinking like that will kill me.
I can totally relate! I’ve been biking to work several days a week for a month now, and just got a new hybrid bike on saturday. Have been to Acadia (national park) three times already this spring and may go again this weekend! It’s great! A new bike makes me feel like a kid again. And it’s so fun to see the leaves pop out more and more each time out.
Does that sticker say “My other vehicle is a spinning wheel?” Totally flipping awesome!! I ride all over too and love it. I figure if you can cruise all over Toronto, I can ride all over teensy Manitowoc. Very inspiring, Very green. BTW: That sock yarn rocks it big time. I love the pools of color with a little bit of a third color for contrast.
I gotta get a bike(enabler-you)!
Sadly, mine is a city that doesn’t make it at all easy (or safe) to cycle as a commuter. To anywhere.
Pittsburgh is a bear for the serious rider, and my hats off to everyone who makes a go of it.
I absolutely love that bumper sticker!!
Gotta love random unwanted confusing comments from weirdo’s on the subway huh? LOL
The amount of pimping I do to my bike far exceeds the amount of riding it gets. Basket on the front, rack on the back, water bottle and holder, rearview mirror, headlights and taillights…all I need is ground effects and some thumpin’ bass.
That sock looks like candy floss
My bike has had its tires re-inflated but it’s promptly been neglected in favour of a boot-commute to work. Nothing against my bike, I’ve just discovered that I can knit and walk at the same time! So, with a 45 minute hike, as opposed to a 15 minute ride, each way, I can finish a couple inches of sock in a day.
No smart remarks from passers-by so far.
The bike will get out soon though, as I do have those days when I need to be somewhere faster, and with our 4th smog alert before the end of MAY already, I’m trying to leave the 4-wheeler parked whenever I can. I am also doing a 25 Km charity ride next weekend (with less training up for it than in past years , uh-oh!)
http://www.loghouseplants.com/select%20plants.htm
Sadly, the people who name plants beat you to the joke–Bacopa ‘Cabana’ has been around for two or three years.
*sighs* I wish I could bike. The gas prices are ridiculous and there’s no real mass transit in my area (sorry Septa, but 4 changes to go 15 miles to work isn’t mass transit). But I’m too afraid of the crazies to try it. Can I join LizR and ask for help in moving to sane Canada?
Oh and tell Joe it is too funny!
I’ve started riding my bike to work this week and it’s fabulous. It sure beats sitting in traffic, paying for gas and not getting enough exercise.
Not sure if anyone has asked yet as you have so many comments and I’ll leave the reading of them all to you…..but……
WILL YOU BE RIDING YOUR BIKE TO INDIGO TOMORROW NIGHT?
Just curious.
The sock yarn is clever and wonderful–I’m in love. The malodorous dude on the subway? He is the reason bicycles were invented…blessed blessed bicycle, may it take you on fabulous adventures this summer, and may your knitting feel the breeze in its fibers…
1. Anything with a daily reference to Barry Manilow is funny. You’d be amazed how often the tune for Mandy is used in my daily life. The lyrics are easily changeable to any situation.
2. I believe I know the hill you speak off. Is there a subway stop at the bottom of it? It sucked on foot…I can’t imagine on a bike.
3. PEI? So insanely jealous! Ever since I read Anne of Green Gables I have wanted to visit there.
You got your bike out just in time for Go Green Friday, last Friday of the month in Cambridge, that is Cambridge Massachusetts not Cambridge Ontario.
Very funny about using up the brain cells.
Sorry Harlot… this message is for Rachael H. I tried to return e-mail you but it was something to the effect of a comments responder e-mail address type thingy.
Ok, here’s my response to you Rachael H…
I AM A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DORK! Not only did I get your e-mail, but for some reason, felt that I had to go to my blog to respond! Now THAT’S a super Blonde moment!
Anyway, I’ll try to remember the reply I posted on my blog to you…
Go to Facebook… on the left, there will be an icon for “groups”. Click it on. Then top right hand corner will be a search box under the “Help”. Type in Facebook Knitters and there you have it! So far, only my friends have joined and only one knows how (barely) to knit (I am teaching her).
Not only am I an official daycare now (thank you for your congrats), but I am now an official knitting instructor. The manager of Lewiscraft (ya, they all closed down except for one, in Ottawa) asked me to be their knitting instructor for beginners and to teach sock knitting later down the line after I find my comfort zone teaching 4 – 6 people at a time. Yes, I’m bragging because I’m (expletive deleted) proud of myself and will talk to anyone about it!
I’ve gone from Corporate Pion to entrepreneur with one decision!
May I ask? How did you find my blog?
Rhonda
Ha! I’m not sure if anyone else has commented about this, but I love your ‘my other vehicle is a spinning wheel’ bumper-sticker on your bike! That’s too cool-where’d you pick it up at?
This comment is now for The Harlot:
I was born and raised in Toronto. I remember the Human Sardine can called the subway. I also remember that once you got to Vic Park Station, anyone getting on after that ususally either shoved their bodies into an opening the size of my big toe or waited 3, 4, sometimes 5 trains for one where there was decent standing room. Now, while I’ve never knit in Toronto (I left for university at 27 and didn’t learn to knit until I was 30), it got so bad with the “crazies” that I pretended to be deaf and would pretent to sign (no offence to deaf people who know how to sign). Then the perverted crazy used to follow me off the train thinking that not only must she be deaf, but DUMB as well. That’s when I would turn around and start yelling at them to stop following me. Used to freak them out every time! You can’t buy that kind of fun in Ottawa. All we get here are frustrated road ragers on the 417 eastbound and the on rampers and off rampers. What are On Rampers, Off Rampers you ask? I’ve lived in 4 Canadian cities including Ottawa. Only in Ottawa are the off ramps and on ramps across the street from each other and the off ramps and on ramps are very long. So in bumper to bumper traffic, we get on the off ramp, go through the lights and get back on the ramp and do this all the way to Carling when it stops (because after that is downtown). It’s fun!
I LOOOOVE that sock yarn! I wish I could ride my bike to work here in Ottawa, but I have a daycare drop-off and pickup so can’t. I sure do miss my Bike commuting days in Toronto, though.
Yes, yes, yes!! I also have a milk crate strapped/bungeed to the rack on the back of my bike. But, mine is yellow!! Trusty steed, indeed. And, what would be do without those plastic milk crates??? When will the bike accessory people come up with something a bit more streamlined to take its place????
mwahhahahahahaha-Thank you I sure needed a good laugh and a pretty sock photo. Bacopa Cabana ~snort~ Hope that crazy guy didn’t have cooties. Imagine all those folks walking around perfectly erect so as not to spill their eggs.
Hi…I just had to comment on this blog…I read it daily but not much to comment…but was totally excited to have you mention PEI in it….Thats where I am from….ya gotta love the red soil….are you sure that was a deep ditch and not one of our seasonal pot holes??..Anyways just wanted to say hi….hope when you were here you had a nice vacation and that you will want to return in the near future
From The Observer Book of Genius: “An unusually large number of nuns at the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Minnesota are centenarians free of dementia. Scientists have ruled out God and put the findings down to stimulating hobbies such as knitting.”
So the laugh’s clearly on your malodorous friend. Whose early onset dementia might have been avoided had he only spent more time knitting.
The subway ‘tip’ made me crack up aloud at work. Nice. My boss now thinks that I am both nuts and have an unusual attraction to fibre. Oh, I do.. if only they knew the extent. 😀
oooh, do you think your bike will want to get together with my bike (http://knitspot.com/wp-content/uploads/daily%20posts/skirt6_july06.jpg) for a play date? i promise it will be fun. how i will get it to toronto, i dunno yet, but i’m sure the details can be worked out.
I only have one question? So, where did the milk crate on the back of the bike come from?
Bacopa Cabana. I will howl every time I think of it, Joe is wrong. (sorry, Joe!)
That’s hysterical.
And I wish wish wish I could jump on a bike and ride all over town. Oh I wish. Dam* knees/hips.
(((hugs)))
I love my bike! I cycle year round (granted our weather is just wet and slightly cold). I love the freedom it gives me and I take a lot of glee in passing the traffic while they sit at lights (there’s a separate cycle track just so you don’t think I’m jumping lights). I smile rather smugly about it. I love when the bus and I play cat and mouse when I go into town. And it definitely keeps me fit! More people should get bikes and enjoy it, even if it’s just for the summer.
Just discovered the comments link – fun, but it cuts into my knitting time.
By the way, Stephanie, there was a movement afoot in England a few years ago, to change the name, as “Spotted Dick” wasn’t considered “very nice”!!!! Must have been sometime after they joined the European Common Market. Fortunately, nothing happened.
Bacopa Cabana! That will be funny all summer long!
I was thinking of getting my bike out of storage this evening and filling the tires etc. You just helped make that thought a reality.
Bacopa Cabana! That will be funny all summer long!
I was thinking of getting my bike out of storage this evening and filling the tires etc. You just helped make that thought a reality.
I love the pooling on your new sock – and I am glad you are not worried about using up your precious intellect with knitting — though it does require use of intellect.
I still don’t know what a Bacopa Cabana is, but it sounds fun.
I live in a bike-safe neighborhood, but “Big Green” (it’s Schwinn’s retro version, complete with the spaceship light and horn) is sitting forlornly in the backyard next to the pool and DH’s “Big Black”. Both bikes have flat tires, although the light and horn still work. I guess that’s good should I ever want to ride it. I had to get an old-fashioned bike with the big seat so my fat ass wouldn’t feel like it had a thong flossing it.
BTW, I’ve seen one Spotted Dick in my time. And no, I didn’t drink there. Sorry… couldn’t resist.
Overheard at the Toronto launch as it became evident there were no chairs left and many many people standing:
Indigo staff person “Can you BELIEVE this?”
I was proud to be a member of that rowdy happy bunch of Harlot loving knitters.
Gail, who got one of the last three chairs. I’m pushy!
I was knitting at my workplace a couple of weeks ago (before my shift started), and one of the girls there said she should learn how to knit someday because she’ll need something to do when she’s old.
I am 27.
Oh, and Joe is wrong. The Bacopa Cabana thing will always be funny.
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Nice site. Thank you:-)
Cool site. Thank you.
Nice site. Thank you.
>>…that I should stop knitting now while I was young, or else my intellect would be “used up and worthless” before I was 50. He advised me that there are limits, and I was going to exceed them.<<
Well, I didn’t want to bring this up, but most old folks I know, used to be knitters. Now they’re lip flubbers.
Maybe the old guy knows something?