Bike and a Half

Heavy Contents, originally uploaded by BodhiDave.

Living across the river from Downtown Norfolk is pretty damn sweet. Almost everything is there, but I don't live in it. I live in a quiet historical neighborhood and can go back and forth between the two as much as I want for a dollar a day.

Last night I hit up GNC and the grocery store before I went home. I needed protein mix for work, some tofu for home, and we were almost out of water.

GNC was full of what I assume to be military people who had just arrived. They were all buying gigantic buckets of protein and it took me forever to get out of there. Walking through the mall in full commuting gear is always fun. People look at you like you're from another country or something, and those annoying kiosk peeps usually leave you alone.

As I searched for a place to lock up my bike at The Market, a guy behind me called out that he bet my bike was light. People always think my bike is light, and just like the others, he wanted to pick it up. I always keep one hand on handlebars in case someone decides to make a run for it.

Mr. Man then continued to bet me that the bike was expensive. This is another thing people always do. As I pulled my u-lock out of my bag and started to affix Jenny to a stationary metal trash can, Mr. Man advised this was not something he would do. He said someone would take my seat, and my wheels. My seat is so cheap it doesn't even have a name on it, and it has a gash in the side. My wheels aren't much better.

I asked him where he was from, and he said Norfolk, that he actually worked nearby and pointed to a tall building. He said he'd seen me biking around a lot from the window. I wonder if it's really me he's been seeing or maybe NYC Chris, or any other cyclists with a black bike.

I locked up, got my tofu and water, and walked back out with a much heavier bag. I knew a gallon of water weighed a lot, but I figured on my back it wouldn't feel like so much. It did. Although a lot of crap and weight was back there, my Chrome bag was surprisingly comfortable. I wasn't worried about it sliding to one side and pulling me down under the wheels of a bus, and even though my back muscles definitely knew something was back there, it was not uncomfortable at all. Well done Chrome.

When I got home I decided to weigh the bag just to see how much stuff I had in there. With some logistical help from Kasey (she's the smart one) I weighed myself with and without the bag.

All the crap you see above weighed in at thirty pounds! That's like having my bike plus half my bike again on my back. I can safely say that's the most I've ever had in there at once, and I still had room for more. The Mansion for the win.

- David