recalling muscle memory

[cellio]

It's true what they say: you never forget how to ride a bike. Note that they don't say anything about how awkward or embarrassed you'll be for the first block. :-) To be fair, while it's been a long time since I've ridden a bike, it's been a really long time since I've ridden a bike with one gear and no handlebar brakes.

A year or so ago our sister company rounded up some old bikes, fixed them up, painted them all a prominent ugly color, and made them available for employees to use. They didn't want theft-bait; all these bikes are very low end. I had a dentist's appointment today a mile up the road and figured riding would be faster than walking, which it certainly was. Fortunately for me, the collection includes at least one short-person bike; the standard size is too big for me.

It was nice to get out. Maybe I'll explore the bike trail down by the river.

Comments

[arabella23.livejournal.com]

Bob Hansen showed me the bikes when I took the Maya tour the other day. I thought it was a great idea.

[cellio]

You took the MAYA tour and you didn't come say hi? *sniff* :-)

[arabella23.livejournal.com]

He showed me your desk, you weren't there to see me :P

[cellio]

Sorry I missed you. And sorry you missed my USB acquarium, which I had to send back for replacement. I know it's nothing compared to the decor in Lime; we're working on it. :-) (If you've got suggestions for blueberry-themed decor, fire away.)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Very cool of your company to do that!

[cellio]

It's an employee initiative, not something the company sponsors. (Well, the company might have bought the paint and maybe the locks.) It's neat that I work with people who are interested in improving the community.

This actually came from our sister company. In our company the coolness has, so far, mainly manifested in decorations (neighborhood pride), public games and jigsaw puzzles, coffee club, and stuff like that. More in-reach and less out-reach, but it's all good.

BTW, I learned last week that the other guys, confronted with a two-foot-wide balcony off our third-floor space, laid sod, so people can wander through the grass barefoot. They've even had to mow it once already. :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Even having the company be open to that kind of employee initiative is already a step beyond my current place.

*grass envy*
How did they mow it? (I'm guessing bringing in a lawn mower up in an elevator wouldn't work, but perhaps it does.)

[cellio]

Weedwacker. It and a watering can were sitting next to each other just inside the doors. Odd combination. :-) (The balcony is only about 2.5 feet deep -- too narrow for a mower even if they did want to bring one in. And no one monitors the employee entrance and elevator, so they could have.)

[jducoeur]

it's been a really long time since I've ridden a bike with one gear and no handlebar brakes.

Yeah, I hit the same phenomenon on our trip. The bikes on Castaway Cay are of that basic sort (the island's basically a sandbar, so fancy bikes would be total overkill), but I did have a real moment of, "Where the heck are my brakes???"