16 January 2015

And They Used To Say I Was An Animal On My Bike...

Every once in a while, I see someone "walking" his or her dog while riding a bicycle.  I have probably seen it most often on or around beaches, especially in Florida.  However, I've also seen it in parks and even on streets here in NYC.

contemporary figure painting by Carolee Clark
"A Dog's Pace" by Carolee Clark.


Sometimes I wish I could do the same with Max and Marlee. I could carry them in the baskets on my LeTour, I guess.  The only problem is that I don't know how I would get Max into a basket, as he doesn't like to be picked up and is no longer the climber he was in his youth, and that Marlee would never sit in a basket long enough for me to start riding.

I once rode about two kilometers carrying a little Yorkie in my cocked left arm and my right hand on my handlebar.  I'd found her wandering through a busy intersection where she was in imminent danger of becoming roadkill. No one seemed to know where she came from and I rode, hoping to find a shelter or a vet's office.  Finding neither, I took her to a precinct house, where a burly sergeant fell in love with her.

Max would never stand--or, more precisely, sit or curl up--for such a ride.  Marlee might, for a couple of minutes.  Then her nervousness would get the best of her and she'd wriggle her way into a fall onto the pavement.

I find it ironic that in other parts of the world, people on bikes carry all kinds of other animals.  I saw a man ride with a monkey on his shoulder in Marseille, France and another man with a lizard standing guard on his sternum as he navigated the alleyways of Rome.

But they had nothing on this guy, with a goat along for the ride, in Uganda.  I just hope the passenger gave him a hefty tip:

From Art Propelled


  

4 comments:

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUiGQM1rqu0

    this one's in LA

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  2. And this guy posts lots of films from rides with his cat:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLsAnxUwzQ

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  3. 1. Cat into carrier. 2. Put carrier/cat in basket. If cat doesn't like carrier, get in habit of feeding cat in carrier.

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  4. Steve--It's not so hard to get Marlee into a carrier. Max is another story. Maybe I'll try your suggestion.

    Chris and Rebecca--Thanks for the links!

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