Conference Bike Pedicab

I took the Conference Bike to the area around Qwest Field yesterday afternoon with the plan of trying it out as a kind of pedicab service for the Seahawks game. It worked, more or less, although if I were to do it again—and I may—I would definitely make sure I had a partner with me.

There was a lot of hustling involved; I rode around exhorting people to hop on and ride, mostly unsuccessfully. Plenty of folks expressed their admiration for the bike: “That is the most amazing contraption I’ve ever seen!” “Awesome!” But then, for one reason or another—or not at all—they would decline to ride.

High points included:

• Ferrying around a woman campaigning for judge with her campaign workers and so many balloons, I could hardly see where I was going.

• Picking up a group of six tipsy football fans at a bar and riding to the stadium several blocks away—this, in fact, was what I had thought most of the rides would be like.

• Circling Pioneer Square with an economics professor from Claremont-McKenna college and her two friends, one of whom kept saying, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”

• Inviting four homeless—or at least down and out—people to help me pedal around a bit and being surprised at how well this one guy, Alton, got the whole concept of CoBi as metaphor for societal cooperation.

• Oh, and it was fun piloting those three strippers who were passing out flyers for Fantasy Football for a couple blocks, too.

Funniest moment:

• I’m riding beside these two football player types encouraging them to hop on; they say maybe, I should check with their alpha male, the neckless “Big Dan,” a few paces ahead. Whattaya say, Dan? All ‘roid-raged up, Dan swivels his chest and says, “That is the gayest thing I’ve ever seen; you should pay me not to knock your ass offa it.”

Whatever, dude; unsure about your masculinity much?