My Friend Marc, who was gracious enough to facilitate an “energizer station”
found cycling with coffee, creamer and an airpot isn’t as easy as he thought…with his permission the following is his humorous account of his challenging morning…
Deborah,
Some days, you just need a do-over. I’m not sure “Do-Over” is a great
name for a Roast House blend, but I’d pay extra for a pound if it
could set the clock back an hour and let me make a second run
at my morning.
I headed out this morning with the gray milk crate zip-tied to my bike
rack—-a design inspired by Barb Chamberlain’s “Donkey Boxx. I had it loaded with an air pot of piping hot, fresh brew and supplies. Load tested with at least 5 times it’s current cargo weight, I was confident the contraption would perform flawlessly. So I pedaled confidently toward the Energizer Station.
The first 4 miles were uneventful. Then I went flying down the hill on Evergreen, over the freeway. Lucky, me! I caught a green light on Indiana, and leaned into a hard left turn. Midway though the turn I hit a bump and all 5 zip ties snapped in unison. Pansies! The milk crate and its contents went airborne, screaming! They went bouncing, sliding, and rolling across the intersection, slammed against the curb and began groaning and crying out for help.
Skidding to a stop I flew off the bike and rescued half of the coffee. I nearly added tears to the coffee spill—-such a waste of precious beans. (Sure smelled great, though!) The cups were undamaged, still in their plastic sleeve. The sugar and spoons Jenny added to the supplies were fine in their double zipped locked weather proofing. The creamer bottle suffered a serious case of whiplash and threw up all over itself, but it calmed down when the dust settled and eventually stopped sobbing.
The air pot suffered serious cosmetic damage at the least. If you chained it to the tow-hitch on your monster trunk like an aggressive pit bull, then drove to the 7-11 down at the corner for a pack of smokes, forgetting that the air-pot was napping under the trunk—-well, that’s what it looks like. It still gives forth steaming hot brew, without complaint. But I have no way of knowing if it’s lost it’s keep-it-hot stamina. It’s probably perfectly suited for serving coffee at the Double Down Hoe Down where, if you don’t have some gnarly scars, you’re obviously lost and about to get some. But gentle folk in evening dresses and bow ties will gasp and turn away at the sight of it. And it’s probably always going to walk with a limp.
So, how much do these puppies cost? Better order up a shiny new one, and sell me this one for the shiny new price. Maybe I’ll put it on the mantle as a conversation starter. I’m sure I can come up with agood story.
-Marc
