Bike date!

Last night we went to the first Bike Fest bike-in. They were showing "The Goonies" at a little park a few miles from my house. I love that movie and we had to go! I got everything ready well in advance and even packed a picnic diner of cold chicken sandwiches and crackers. We had cookies for with the movie too!

All packed up.

All the lights were charged and on the bikes. The rear Wald baskets were deployed to hold sweaters, blankets, and seating. I love them even though they are a bit of a pain to open. They are super convenient to have.
It was fun packing stuff into Sylvia's baskets and the scary thing is she could hold way more than that. She's a real pack horse!

Niterider and Flea go nicely under the basket.

About halfway there I was struggling a bit with the extra cargo, and I even told poor husband to go ahead of me and I'd catch up. He refused and stayed with me. Then he toldme it looked like my wheel was a bit squishy. The one thing I had forgotten was to check my tires! All tires have a slow deflation factor and it caught up with me.

We made it to the park.

Even with me moving super slow we got there way early. We were the first ones to arrived. After a few minutes more people came and milled about. It was a cute little park and the only downside was no bathrooms. Fortunately there is a church nearby and I used theirs. My husband and I ate our sandwiches while we waited for the show to start.

Mirror image

"Goonies" was better than i remembered. I don't know if it was the cold outside air, the other people laughing and hooting at the screen, or the fact that it was our first bike date ever, but it was great. Even the cold couldn't detract, but I'm glad I found my favorite gloves and took them. Now I want to go and buy the movie so we can watch it again!
The ride home was dark and chilly, but not as scary as I had worried about. I have a fear of my lights suddenly dying, but it didn't happen and it was actually kind of peaceful. I'm thinking there will be more nighttime excursions in our future, especially after I get a dynamo set up.

Best light gloves ever, and they turn into mittens!

Birthday Trip Day 2 Part 2!

After we left the canyon we headed for Old Bisbee, AZ to take the Queen Mine tour. Right outside the town is the now closed Lavender Mine where they used to mine copper and other metals. It closed in 1974 due to lack of production. It's both beautiful and hideous at the same time.  

The Lavender Pit Mine.

The Queen Mine tour was my favorite part of the whole trip. I loved going down the track on the cart and feeling the cold breath of the Earth on me. There were a few stairs we had to climb, but our guides were very patient and seemed to be in no rush. They never hurried me and that was appreciated. I want to go back again soon. We'll make reservations though because we had to wait for the last tour of the day. They book up fast.

They dress you before you get to go in the hole.

The old foreman got tired of walking all over the mine so they built him a special bicycle. The miners used to joyride it when he wasn't around and blame Headless John for moving it.

Our guide Benny explaining the bell system. It's small but mighty.

Would you ride in this elevator? I would!

The potty cart. Sometimes the miners would play tricks on each other with it. They would take off the brake and the victim would roll down the track with his butt hanging out. If they hit the wrong lever trying to brake they would dump the "load" and have to clean the whole track. Poor guys.

 This is the exit/entrance to the mine. A daunting yet beautiful sight.

This was the best part of my trip, but sadly most of my pictures inside didn't come out. It's so dark in there you can barely see with the lights you have, but it's a friendly dark. Next time we go I'm taking a flash unit!