#30DaysofBiking: Kickstand Kind

In this world of bikes and riders there are many bicycles and many ways to ride. There are riders who race, or at least who rush, and those seeking speed favor minimalist machines. We do tend to move quicker when less burdened, so these riders are wise to be wary of weight. If your goal is to go with the least effort, take only what you need.

This is why you don't see kickstands in the Tour de France.

But there are other ways to ride and if your trips are anything like mine, they may involve at least as much stopping as going. If you saunter more than sprint, then perhaps you are not a racer. Perhaps you are another kind of rider, on another kind of ride.

Perhaps you are the kickstand kind.

A kickstand does nothing to make the bike go, but it's there for you when you stop. For me, on my rides, it's worth it's weight.

I stop and take pictures. I stop and eat. I stop sometimes just for the sake of stopping.

I am the kickstand kind.

I'll go riding later today, after the sun is up. I'm not sure yet where I'll go, but I'll update this post later with a mileage total.

I'm not sure where I'll ride, but it'll be somewhere. And I'll be stopping and putting down the kickstand.

Because I am the kickstand kind.

Kent "Mountain Turtle" Peterson

Issaquah WA USA

Evening update. 4 miles of riding around town. The best picture from the day is this one of McNugget the Rooster. He lives in a little house next to the espresso stand on Front Street.