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Puzzle 81 - Another Effing Vowel Progression

By Brian Thomas

I had like three unnecessary paragraphs typed up about how we ended up with an ebike (short version: March 2020 we planned on trying one month one car instead of two, lol whoopsies COVID, never drove the other car, sister-in-law got a job at an ebike company, she got a bike, holy crap that's fun & practical & when are we getting one). As of a week and a half ago we have the RadWagon 4 and OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE IT. WIFE LOVES IT. THE BOYS LOVE IT. IT IS THE BEST.

Very first day of doing the home -> daycare -> work commute, it's like 40 degrees at 7 am. I'm a little nervous here - how will the almost-3-year-old actually do back there? He's loved the weekend but this is earlier and colder and foggy and we'll go a little faster. Only 3 miles but still - he could be absolutely miserable. Bundled him all up - conveniently cloth masks work pretty well as facewarmers too - and off we went. He was in heaven. Chattering away the whole time. We saw raccoons darting into the bushes and a flock of turkeys on the trail. Little ring of the bell and the turkeys just wobble two feet off to the side. Pretty awesome to slowly roll by that close - they were just outside of arm's reach. And then, just past the turkeys, the trail crests a hill to an overlook of the Spokane River down in a little canyon. Thick, sunrise-pink-tinged fog covering the river, the canyon, and the blight of suburban sprawl - we could just see the tippy-tops of some pine trees poking through. Mount Spokane rising in the distance against a clear blue sky, and we do not hear a single sound. Serene, jaw-droppingly beautiful, and just myself, my son, and some turkeys down the trail. Magical. I regret not taking 30 seconds to get my phone out and take a picture - but part of me is content to just let that incredible moment live on in the memories of the only two people lucky enough to see it. Just perfect.

I could go on and on and on about how amazing it is to have a car replacement that is:

  • more fun
  • safer (very fortunate that we are close to a number of trails)
  • healthier
  • better for the planet
  • better for our community
  • more fun for the kids
  • requires very little maintenance
  • an order of magnitude cheaper
    • seriously, this list is basically all the new cars that cost under $20,000
    • that's just initial price, doesn't even include maintenance and not buying gas
  • did i mention more fun?
In a week and a half we have used the bike for:
  • all the grocery store trips
  • half of the daycare drop-offs & work commutes (Morgan's not comfortable enough with it for that yet - hopefully soon!)
  • weekend morning trail rides + donut pickup
  • lots of neighborhood cruising
  • play date with the cousins
  • donation drop-off
  • hardware store run
  • takeout pickup
Never ever ever ever ever ever going back. As soon as we pick out a model and can swing it, Morgan's getting an ebike too so we can really expand our family hike/picnic/adventure/whatnot range. We also still have the other car for longer trips, some winter travel, etc. - infrastructure is nowhere close to making that feasible, sadly. But for the day-to-day commute, kid drop off, running errands...the bike is paradise. Legitimately life-changing. If you're even thinking about getting one...just do it. You won't regret it.

Other tidbits

  • The almost 3-year-old got to request his birthday dinner...he requested bacon + Brussels sprouts + pasta and that just cracks me up!
  • I had a couple fab collabs lately - w/ Malaika Handa on girlbosswords, and w/ Brooke Husic in Universal (10/21 - don't see a way to link to the exact puz). Have another Universal collab coming out soon so keep your eyes peeled!
  • Saw Dune last week - it's very good. Dune is probably my favorite book and I quite enjoyed the movie (though I do have some nitpicks...but the bar was very low compared to the 80s version though...). Morgan also really liked it and has never read any of the books, which was fun too!
  • Not sure if I mentioned this, but you should get an ebike. They're pretty rad :)



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