Porteur Racks

This is not my bike. This is a photo I grabbed from the internet showing a type of rack that I'm interested in for my bike.

I've been looking at front racks that provide a flat surface on which to place your load. There aren't that many out there. I found the following, most of them are pretty expensive. The ones made by hand are the most expensive and I'm sure they are worth the price. Please let me know what others are available.

VeloOrange
CETMA
Paul Flatbed
Civia Pizzeria
Pass and Stow
Pret a Porteur (this one is my one of my favorites)
Henbrow Frame Fixing Rack (I like the mounting of this one)

I found a couple do-it-yourself versions too:
Instructables
Bicycle Quarterly (you have to buy this issue to get the plans)

Some of you may remember that I had a wire basket mounted on top of a narrow front rack. I liked the setup, but I want something less restrictive regarding the load shape and size. A basket limits you to the shape of the basket.

Transporting Coffee while using Crutches

The biggest problem with wearing an immobility boot and using crutches is the problem of carrying coffee from the kitchen to my rat's nest (that's what I'm calling the area I've taken over in the TV room). Here's my solution: I pour the fresh coffee in a thermos, put the thermos in a backpack, put the backpack on, then carry it to the rat's nest for drinking.

My New Shoe

This is my new shoe, just for the right foot. I've been watching lots of Netflix and reading. The surgery went well -- so far. I could still get an infection though. The doctor didn't need to cut me open, he used a "scope."

The Kids

I gave my daughter a black eye last week with a baseball while playing catch. I really felt like crap because no parent likes to see their kid hurt especially when the parent is the cause of the injury.

The only way to avoid childhood injuries is to keep our kids in the house all the time.  Since that's not an option, I'll just have to worry silently and let then be kids.

My son rides his bike to school and it worries the shit out of me, because there are lots of people driving cars who aren't taking it as seriously as they should. If their kids were out on the road, I'm sure they'd be more careful.

I remember being injured quite a few times when I was kid -- bicycling, skateboarding, and fights.

This is a link to a blog post in which the author's kid crashes into a tree. It feel sad for the dad.

Saturday's HC Ride (April 9, 2011)

Last Saturday's HC ride took us, among other places, to the current end of the Cedar Lake Trail. The city is building an extension that will take it all the way to the Mississippi River and the extension is almost complete. 

This photo shows the group reaching the end point and turning around.

Here we've gathered after the turn around and are discussing Raleigh decals or something.

Here we are discussing which brake levers fit best on Lauterwasser handlebars.

Here we are discussing which one of us is dressed better.

We stopped at the Astor Cafe which has changed to table service -- a bit more upscale. We all decided to  give up drinking coffee, at least until the next morning.

After the ride we stopped at Hiawatha Cycles. Someone asked how far we'd ridden and no one knew. I suspect it was more than 15 miles and less than 25. Some of the riders continued on and rode much further.