A Nod to Nothing: Finnish Bistro Bike Ride

Sunday, August 16, 2020

Finnish Bistro Bike Ride

Yesterday I pedaled up to the Finnish Bistro in the Como neighborhood of St. Paul. Very close to the State Fair. Given the Fair is going to be shut down this year due to Covid concerns (rightly so), it's about as close to my bike ride to an Americano at the Farmer's Union there that I'm going to get. Kind of a bummer - I'm usually there earlier enough to see some interesting sights. Last year it was Governor Walz stopping by my table to say hello. I'm still getting a little bit of rub on the back tire even after my deep cleaning during a streaming Sarah Morris concert We'll see if new brake pads will take care of it. I may have to bite the bullet and do a little bit of truing. I did take a trip later in the day to find tires for the other bicycle (which has a bald back wheel), but Gateway and Strauss didn't have anything with tread due to Coronavirus stocking issues. The wait is like 4 weeks at the moment. I bit the bullet and ordered a pair of tires off Amazon. They seem upscale compared to what's on the bike after a bit of research.

Some cool animal sightings as I was out at 6:00 a.m. A bunch of turkeys wandering around near the river. And when I went past Fort Snelling a deer in the parking lot was close enough for petting for a thirty seconds. Not that I'd pet him. Deer ticks make me nervous (after two rounds of Lyme's).

Here's my bike nearby (the old one) while I eat Oat Cakes with cardamom, reindeer sausage, and an Americano on the bus bench. I think my biggest issue was lack of a metal fork. I should put one in my pack so I always have one. It would have made the meal much better. Not that it wasn't delicious, albeit a bit too much.

Part of the reason I was up there was to drop a book off for Alex. No one answered, but with Covid I've been wrapping drop offs in quart bags, so I was able to leave it hidden in the weeds behind a pitcher and send him a photo. Although it's a Cthulhu book, so hopefully it doesn't leave an evil, otherworldly essence behind to infuse his plants.

As I neared home, I pedaled past a bunch of guys packing up their bicycles after a morning ride near Hwy 13. I was amused that there one guy explaining that his bicycle was "not a road bike" and he could move to a road bike if he wanted to in order to be more efficient. His definition of "not a road bike" had treadless, razor thin tires, and a light frame. I wanted to yell, "THIS IS NOT A ROAD BIKE." But I refrained.

Overall, it reminded me of the Craft Beer Drinkers Be Like series that Kyle forwarded me: