Its inaugural ride beyond coming home from Pedal Play was Midnight Mass. We did a downtown loop via Cambie Bridge, and I practiced getting into "pole position" (leaning on whatever is available) at stoplights.
Friday morning was drizzly and tired, but that woudn't stop the Mielgeot. I rode to work, noting the dreary-looking zombies on the way to their shitty jobs on a "shitty" day. Brrring-brrring, the Mielgeot is here to remind you that I'm having FUN on the way to work!
Saturday morning, we had a Project-B meeting planned. Riding south on Victoria, I experienced my first tall bike flat. It was a 2.5" long nail, stuck right in the tire! What the crap! I had to walk it 10 blocks to Bon's, and changed the tube as we ate, drank, and were merry.
I observed a tall bike sabbath on Sunday, but couldn't stay off for long. Sunday night, looking at the weather forecast, I decided I would be taking the Mielgeot over the 2nd Narrows to school on Monday morning. As I approached the bridge, my heart was beating furiously. The weather was beautiful. I stopped before committing to the crossing to pull out my camera. Check out my flickr for a few action photos.
The bridge turned out to be less scary than I thought it would be, and the ride up the hill to school was decent in the 40/19 (~57 inch) gear. My friends at school were pretty stoked on the bike, as most people are. One of them asked, "why would you build a bike like this?"... to which I replied "for nothing but that big smile on your face."
Bikes like the Mielgeot will evoke a smile from most, and a lot more from others. I suppose it's just a side benefit that it's ridiculously fun to ride as well.
