Ballast

Yes, I rode to work today.

It was a lovely day here, a little hazy early, but that quickly cleared up.

This is a friend and co-worker. Today he was waiting for Dial-A-Ride to come collect him after work. We used to work in the same building, but now don't get to talk so much. He is often waiting for his ride as I'm walking to mine and this gives us a chance to catch up. For sake of privacy I won't share his name. Let's just call him "Ballast" for reasons I expect will become clear by the end of the post.

A couple of years ago we were actually experiencing a spell of real wintry weather here and I wasn't able to ride for way too long. As you might well imagine, I didn't like it very much. I knew of at least one solution. Thus I began to wonder what it would be like to own a sidecar rig. Reading of both Chris's riding during the Minnesota Winter over at Everyday Riding and of Dom's adventures in the snow of Colorado at Redleg's Rides fed my curiosity. Heather and I even made a pilgrimage up North to visit Chris and his wonderful wife in order to experience a little of life on three wheels first hand. (Click here to read about it)

Alas, I have no place to keep a sidecar rig even if I could afford one. At the very least, I've put this dream on hold.

Mercifully, the last couple of winters have been mild even by Missouri standards. Truthfully, even with a "bad" winter here there are still lots of riding days. I suspect prolonging my riding season will never be the primary motivation for bringing a rig into my life. This is where my friend Ballast comes in. I've told him if I ever get a sidecar he will be my first passenger after Heather. And you better believe he will hold me to it! I think his walker would look really good strapped to the luggage rack of a Ural don't you?

While I can think of plenty of reasons for owning a sidecar rig, honestly, I can't think of a better one than giving my friend a chance to ride the wind.

• 30F/-1C with a few clouds and some haze for the ride to work.
• 52F/11C and fair for the home ride.