Ok, here's a cycling story that ties together a few things I've posted about previously.
I posted recently about the large number of apples that our sole apple tree has produced this summer. We're making apple sauce, and peeling apples by hand is tedious, so I wanted to get one of those old hand-cranked apple peelers. Happily, Lee Valley carries them so I figured I'd cycle out to get one. That worked well.
As long as I was in the neighbourhood, I decided I'd cycle over to a nearby LCBO (that's an Ontario government retail outlet for alcohol) I hadn't been to previously and get some beer. That also went well, and I picked a few good-looking beers, some of which I've enjoyed before and some of which were new to me.
When I was paying for my beer, the cashier was very interested in the ORTLIEB panniers that I had with me. I'd seen them recommended here on Mastodon back in July, and had discovered that a fine Kitchener bike shop called Black Arrow Cycles carries them. She looked closely at them, we talked about how well they work for me, and she took a few photos.
And finally, since she was clearly a person who cycles, I asked her if she knew about the @CyclingGuide mobile app. After a moment's hesitation, her eyes let up with recognition and she said that she does indeed know it, and had been one of our early testers. We chatted a bit more as I loaded beer into a pannier, and then I left her to the other folks waiting in line. She said this had made her day. I told her the same for me š.
@CyclingGuide But wait! Thereās more! I hadnāt mentioned in the earlier posts that there had been someone in line behind me at the cashier who had commented on my panniers as well. When I got back outside to my bike, I noticed another was now beside it. While I was re-attaching panniers and unlocking, the person who had been behind me arrived at what turned out to be his bike. We talked about @CyclingGuide a little and he seemed quite interested.
@CyclingGuide Today I was riding my bike along the Iron Horse Trail, a multi-use path on a former railway line. I passed someone coming the opposite direction, and heard him call out āHey Cycling Guyā. It turned out to be the same person! He wanted to confirm the name of the app. Fortuitously, I had some Cyling Guide postcards with me that I give out to folks I encounter who seem interested ā Iād already given out a few this afternoon, and now I gave him one.
Mark Connolly moved to @
Shantell Powell
EllenInEdmonton 