The new Rails-to-Trails bike trail in north Mississippi will be officially open on September 21, 2013! We plan to be there to participate in the opening ceremonies to be held at Pontotoc at 11:30 AM. If you would like to join us in experiencing this great new trail, meet in Houston, MS in time to ride the 25 miles to Pontotoc. After the celebration, we will head to New Albany, then back to Houston. We understand that the trail is about 45 miles from end-to-end so it will be a good day of relaxed riding. If you need further info, please come by the shop.
Being hit by a car going 50 mph is a story no cyclist wants to tell about. Yet, if it happens, everyone wants to know how that cyclist is even here to relate his story. And, everybody should pay attention to the circumstances to learn and hopefully avoid their own living story, or worse.
Dr. Russell Rooks was given his Bacchetta Recumbent bicycle by his loving wife, LeLe, about a year ago. He had test ridden the Giro 26 at our shop, RideSouth, and told her which one he wanted. This bike is a steel frame, high racer style, short wheelbase recumbent bike with a Recurve seat. The Recurve seat is wider and used for touring.
BentLovers & Friends
We are planning a twist to the long-running Rise & Shine Bread Rides we have offered from the shop, forever, it seems! How about meeting at the Natchez Trace Overlook at 8:00 AM this Saturday morning, August 17! We can ride up the Trace or down the trails! You choose! Up the Trace goes about 20 miles if you turnaround at Hwy 43, 30 miles if you ride to River Bend and back. You can get up to about 30 miles if you go the other way on the trails and back! There is plenty of parking at the Overlook, or you can ride your bike over.
This is meant to be a change that everyone can participate in no matter how far you wish to ride. No, we won’t have fresh, hot oat bran bread for you, and we won’t be leaving from the shop, but the sacrifice can be meaningful for all if we can get more of you riding! Yes, bikes are welcome, of course, but thrice is nice 🙂 We will provide leadership on both routes for the next two weeks to see how it goes. Please encourage your friends to dust off their trikes and join us!!
Riding a bicycle on streets and most highways is a right almost all of us have. Conversely, driving a motor vehicle on those same byways is a privilege that can be removed. This distinction deserves some thought from cyclists and motorists alike.
First of all, let’s get past the obvious “dead right” comments and state that any right can be abused; so caution and intelligence should rule when any right is exercised. We have the right to free speech, but mouth off at the wrong time and see where that gets you!
Driving a motor vehicle requires a license. There are certain requirements that must be met and maintained to continue to have that privilege. Unfortunately, caution and intelligence can be lacking here as well. Consider all the dangerous, distracted drivers!
The repercussions of abusing your right to ride a bicycle on streets and highways are generally not as severe as abusing one’s privilege of operating a motor vehicle and driving dangerously. One can do a great deal more damage with a two-ton loaded weapon moving at any speed than with a relatively lightweight bicycle and rider.
The conversation gets more interesting when you consider the accident in San Francisco when a cyclist was convicted this week for plowing into a pedestrian last year, killing a 71-year-old man who was crossing the street. The cyclist was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter, convicted and given community service requirements as a sentence. This is the first case of such a ruling, ever!
Now every cyclist is guilty of blowing through residential stop signs and many will run a red light or two, usually hurting no one. But there are thousands of cases where privileged, reckless motorists have injured, or killed cyclists who were properly exercising their rights. There is some irony that most of these motorists are not prosecuted, or even charged with wrong doing, and the one case of a cyclist causing a death is dealt with using fairly swift justice!
So, should cyclists have a license? Should reckless drivers who hit cyclists be charged and convicted? Is it ok to drive distracted? Who should have privileges and who should have rights? Maybe all we cyclists can do is to remind those motorists who question our use of “their” roadway that we have that right to ride, and remind them that driving on “our” roadway is a privilege for them . . . and they should not abuse it when driving.
Of course, as responsible cyclists, we should slow or stop at stop signs and never run red lights. Always use caution on the roads, be visible and ride as if you are invisible! Yes, it is our right to ride a bicycle almost anywhere . . . and we should consider it a privilege . . . right?
The new Greenspeed Magnums have arrived! If you like trikes, this one will blow you away! If you don’t know trikes, this one will sell you! Of course we have some great trikes from other folks, like Catrike, that are light and fast, too! Try a Hase Kett Wiesel and you will have to have one of these! Trikes are sizzling hot these days. Come ride and enjoy!
Are you fortunate enough to remember the game of marbles? Not the video game, the real game played outside in the dirt. The object is to hold a “shooter” marble in your crooked index finger, and flick it with your thumb to knock opponents’ marbles out of a circle drawn in the dirt. Often you got to keep the marbles you knocked out, so the best strategy was to aim for the nicest prizes to claim as a keeper. Many of you may still have your prized keepers in a collection somewhere!
Today, you don’t see kids playing marbles, or even playing outside very much. Inter-personal relations consist of no-word texts and endless photos on electronic devices that are conceived and deleted in mere seconds. Even some adults do not embrace, or have forgotten the “keeper” concept. “I just want to get in at entry-level to see if I like it” is a phrase we hear often in the shop.
Well, we believe when you are investing in a vehicle that you will become “one” with, you should test ride and accept advice from someone who has experience at providing bicycles and kayaks that are not throw-aways, but are keepers! Since the 1990s, RideSouth has the best record of providing keepers to our customers . . . who are also keepers! You keep coming back to us for more and we appreciate it!
Time: How much do you have . . . really? Of course, none of us know the real answer. Placing a laminated copy of my Medicare card in my wallet gives some perspective though. And remembering Dad’s sudden heart attack at age 77 adds to the calculation. Lottery winners stand to win millions of dollars, but there is no time lottery to win (except in the movies). What would you pay for that valuable minute that was unwisely used, or not used at all? We all have had them.
This is less of a treatise on using time wisely that it is on putting a high value on each minute. Often, we hear customers use the phrase “killing time”. Ouch!! How about “gaining perspective” instead? Seems less deadly. Just a minute, or two, of full attention . . . by all of us, can go a long way toward fulfillment. An extra minute from a motor vehicle driver can mean years added to a cyclist’s life even. How is that for value!
So if you have a minute, or multiple thereof, and if you choose to spend it with us, we will do our best to make it your most valuable minute ever! We care about making a positive difference in the lives of our customers, and we are understanding more each day about the value of our health, and the value of the minutes we have. Maybe because we have less of them, minutes seem more valuable. The truth is, at any age, one minute can change your life forever!
This week, we are offering to buy back the cool trike you purchased directly from RideSouth! We know, that despite our best efforts, sometimes a cool machine gets neglected and needs a new home. Just bring your trike in and we will make you an offer! Please, only bring in trikes you purchased from us. This week only, we are just taking in trikes, so keep riding your cool recumbent bike for a while!
We have a number of used recumbent bikes and Hobie kayaks at the shop, and are in the process of making improvements and updates on them for re-sale. We are adding additional display racks to accommodate the overflow. This would be a good time to look for deals! We have a shipment of the new award-winning Hobie Pro Anglers arriving sometime this week! Be sure to make your reservation for one now!
A perfect Sunday afternoon is a premium anywhere! There are so many activities that call out to us. But here in Mississippi, the 24th most “bike-friendly” state in our great nation, cycling is at the top of our list! The Ridgeland bike trails were crowded with all types of cyclists of all ages. Families pushing their young kids, and adults, feeling like kids, were everywhere! Our long line of Reunion Riders seemed to grab everyone’s attention as we snaked through Old Trace Park just a few feet from the water where sailors, paddlers and motor boaters were enjoying the breezy, 74 degree, sunny afternoon. All types of trikes and bikes were represented, even a tandem!
Bike trail near the Reservoir.
Most of the group pedaled to the Old Craft Center on the trails, while some branched off to tour other parts of the trail network. A few riders had already been riding on the adjacent Natchez Trace . . . another premium cycling area. While some turned back for other activities, many of the large group of riders rode to the west end of the trail and back. The trail leads almost to Clinton and parallels the Natchez Trace. What a great trail to ride with your family!
The real premium, however, is the fantastic group of loyal customers that have been around for almost all of our fifteen years of being in business! We have three tee-shirts, or jerseys, to give away to Jim Lee (2000), Bob McGuire (2003), and David Read (2003). If you were there Sunday and have been a customer longer than these guys, let us know. What a treasure to have folks that continue to care for and support your business all these years! And we have lots of you! Heck, Doug Morgan had just finished a one day, 250 mile ride in New Orleans early Sunday morning, but he and Laura made the effort to show up and cheer us on! Johnny and Beth helped us by being there and making lots of photos. We will load these on the web site soon. Thank you Johnny!
A great group for the first RideSouth Reunion Ride!
Thanks to everyone who made the first Reunion Ride, new and old customers! If you like the ride, couldn’t make it and have suggestions for another ride, please let us know. We are planning a ride to Vicksburg soon, so stay tuned for that date. A possible date is May 5, the day after the Ridgeland Century. Let us know if you are interested. If that date doesn’t work, we will choose another . . . since we hope to be around long after another fifteen years! And . . . with premium friends and supporters like you, we will!
(Please check out the pics in our galleries!)
We have about a dozen bikes and a half-dozen kayaks that are in the used category and need to be sold to make room for new machines! Please come by the shop this week and we will discuss the models and prices with you personally.
