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Most memorable bad weather bicycle ride
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My most memorable bad weather bicycle ride came when I was 13 years old and had to deliver newspapers by bike one chilly, snowy December morning in Denver, Colorado. My parents never thought to offer me a ride in the family car, and being more foolish than smart, I would never have asked.
I recall a snowstorm came blowing in overnight one Saturday -- meaning I started my bike ride/bike trek with about five inches on the ground and more coming down. Did I mention this was a Saturday night? That means I was delivering a very large, very heavy Sunday "Denver Post" newspaper to my almost 100 customers. Looking back on the adventure from my vantage point as an adult, I am aghast that my parents and the newspaper district managers even let us go out in such a near-blizzard that night/early morning.
I folded and bagged my papers as always at the newspaper's district shack, stuffed them into the handlebar newspaper bags on my trusty Columbia bicycle. Vintage Columbia bicycles are hard to find these days. I don't know specifically which model I had, I just remember the salesman called it something like a "Columbia Heavy Duty Paperboy's bicycle." It was all of that -- with emphasis on the "heavy" as I dragged it and the newspapers through several inches of wet Denver snow that night.
I remember starting early, somewhere around 2:00 in the morning, because of the bad weather. We were supposed to have our Sunday deliveries done by 7:00 a.m. When I hadn't made it home by 9:00 a.m., customers were calling the house and my stepmother was getting worried and calling my district manager.
I porched my final paper around 10:00 a.m. The snow had stopped and the sun was starting to warm things up a little. When I finally dragged myself into the house around 10:30 a.m., my stepmom helped me peel off my parka and several layers of wet clothing.
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Following a long, hot bath I sat down to a "Heavy Duty Paperboy's" version of pancakes, bacon, and eggs for breakfast. Never has a bath felt better, and never have pancakes and eggs tasted so glorious.
That was clearly my most memorable bad weather bicycle ride -- or ride/trek/stumble, or whatever.