The Season of Surprises

Who would have guessed that three days after Christmas we would be riding our bikes in a record-breaking 66°F? A surprise gift for all to enjoy, so we left our coats, hats and gloves behind and took a quick trip around town with the warm winds from the south that are passing through. What a treat after weeks of rainy weather, below-freezing weather, and feeling under-the-weather. The best gifts don't need batteries.

A summer-like sunset in December

Starry Night

Christmas Corral

And who would have guessed that the Philadelphia Eagles would beat the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 44-6 to make it to the playoffs on the same day? A season of surprises, indeed!

BIKELites from BIKE Lite on Vimeo.
Happy New Year to all! See you next year!

Supermarket Park It

Make-do
Make-believe

Okay, more than likely the riders of those six bikes were visiting the REI store to the right of the supermarket (as I was). Nearly every time I’m there, I see a bike or two parked outside, which is not surprising since the Schuylkill River Trail is nearby, but there isn’t a bike rack anywhere. This small shopping center got a makeover last year, but I guess nobody thought of adding a bike rack. Maybe I’ll ask someone at REI about it after the holidays when they have time to chat. Or maybe I’ll send an email since that worked wonders in my town. In the meantime, maybe Santa will leave that Playmobil bike rack in my stocking. It’s so small!

Start of a new season

Each year it seems more difficult to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday without the commercial side of Christmas pushing ahead in line. The “after Thanksgiving” sales turned into “before Thanksgiving” sales this year, which meant the advertising started even earlier. On November 1, the Halloween merchandise had been replaced by Christmas merchandise. We even received our first Christmas card in the mail on the day before Thanksgiving. I guess it’s the one ounce of rebellious nature in me that refuses to do any Christmas shopping until December 1. There is only one exception to this rule: charity shopping. Each year my two sisters and I participate in a program run by a local charity that matches us up with an underprivileged child in the Philadelphia area. We never meet the child but receive information such as their age, clothing size, favorite color/character/theme, and any particular needs and wants (a winter coat and a baby doll for our 3 year old girl). The idea is to make Christmas wishes come true for one child instead of just donating money and hoping it will help someone, somewhere. The assignments are given out in early November, and the gifts are due back to the charity during the first week of December. Each year, my daughter and I set aside a day to do the shopping for our “Christmas kid”, and each year she seems to enjoy and understand the concept more. She told me she will definitely participate in the program when she is old enough to have her own “Christmas kid”. But she also felt slightly guilty about impersonating Santa, though she felt he would understand. After all, these children wouldn’t be getting all those extra presents from their parents and relatives, so we have to make it look like Santa is giving them even more.
As I pulled up to the drop-off location on Monday afternoon, my eyes lit up as I saw three people rolling bikes up to the door. Inside was an even better sight:

I think there are 9 bikes here.

As I left the building, two more bikes passed me. This was only halfway into the day, and I know one of my sisters had two more bikes to deliver from other participants. I would love to know the final bike count. What a great way to start the Christmas season.