Basil and I have now ridden a thousand miles/1,609 km together since he arrived last October. Here he is, in Williamstown, Massachusetts, within a mile or ten of this rather thrilling moment in our mutual history:
Basil’s wheels have been on trails (dirt, gravel, and asphalt), on country roads, suburban streets, on highways in-state and out, on gritty Philadelphia streets, and all around Manhattan, including all five boroughs and across five New York bridges, and they’ve ridden through small towns in a host of Pennsylvania counties.
Basil has taken me far and near, and, in-between, brought the groceries home, attended farmer’s markets, run errands at the hardware store and hauled home basketfuls of all sorts of goods required in our home office and in my sewing room.
During his first thousand miles with me, Basil has traveled by train (both regional and Amtrak), in subways, in buses, on a ferry, in a tram over the East River, and in the trunk of my sub-compact car. (Also in the front seat of the car, until I worried about the effect of the air bag on him in case of a crash.)
We’ve ridden solo, and with the wonderful people we’ve met through the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, as well as on a Tweed Ride, and with Mr. Diarist. We’ve done several small cycling events, and one of the largest in the USA.
Our shortest ride was 2.91 miles/ 4.7 km; our longest was not quite 62 miles/99.7 km. Thirty-four of a total of 74 trips were 10 miles/16 km or fewer (meaning that they were primarily errand runs); 40 trips were longer than 10 miles/16 km. Twenty-one trips were 15 miles/24 km or more and 14 trips were over 30 miles/48 km each.
When I stepped out of NYCeWheels that first time next to Basil I wondered how I could ever be worthy of the marvelous steed that is a Brompton. How thing have changed: It’s been an exciting journey from the first moment to the excellent serendipity that marks our current excursions. I may still not be worthy, but life without Basil? I can’t imagine it!