Utilitaire 12, Week Two Roundup

Utilitaire trip by the Capitol

That was a chilly weekend! Wouldn’t want the Utilitaire 12 to be too easy. Good to have a little winter weather (at least for the D.C. area) to spice it up.

Two updates to the rules. They are listed below and I also added them to the Utilitaire Q&A.

  • Attending church may count under the “Community Meeting” category.
  • For the utilitaires that occur in the dark, both parts of the ride do not have to take place in the dark. For example, you could utilitaire to work after sunrise (requiring no lights), but ride home in the dark (requiring lights). This may still count toward the two utilitaires that must be completed in the dark using lights.

And now for a smattering of the various utilitaire outings that have taken place over the course of the last week.  Interestingly, many people who set out on utilitaires have ended up making multiple stops. It’s cool to see where people end up going during the course of a utilitaire.

Lynne's Utilitaire to the Grocery Store (c) LynneFitz
  • I’ve been quite impressed with Oregon randonneuse Lynne F’s approach to utilitaires. She doesn’t tend to leave the bike locked up outside. Instead, the bike goes where she goes. As you can see in the photo above, she even got it into the grocery store aisle.
  • JDAntos took a break from rocking the Capital Bikeshare data to go for a work utilitaire. He chose a day where he worked from a more remote location than his usual commute, and ended up with a solid 15-mile ride. Later, he went for a haircut. People need haircuts more than I thought!
  • BicycleBug, who has been writing several interesting posts about building up a Bridgestone for use as a touring bike, utilitaired with his wife to the grocery store. Actually, they rode to two grocery stores, and it was his wife’s first time riding in the city. Well done!
  • Tweep Katy C. of Canada completed her first utilitaire by riding to work.
  • shebicycles, who has been feeling a little bit under the weather, still ventured out to the library and to Target (“any store that is not a grocery store”). Feel better soon!
  • An Old Guy on Two Wheels, who is an avid advocate for cycling and helps out at the local bike collective in Austin, Texas, attended a community meeting of the Yellow Bike Collective… in the dark.
  • Oregon cyclist @TangoBiker has been out coffeeneuring and utilitairing. This week, he went on one utilitaire to two grocery stores.
  • Tweep Jesse of @RebalancedLife utilitaired to his job.
  • Berlin by Bike who is, I believe, the most remote participant in our challenge, set off for the bike shop this week. Read about that trip here.
  • Porta-John did some “grocery gettin,” in the dark, with a Cateye.
  • @SognRider is documenting his utilitaires through short writeups and photos on his Utilitaire flickr set. Some excellent pics and observations there. So far, this one is my favorite.
  • @dailyrandonneur substituted a haircut for a trip to the dentist. Good idea, especially since he has no hair on his head.
  • Rootchopper went from the triumph of last week’s Utilitaire Gone Wild to this week’s setback of a Utilitaire Gone to Hell. Rootchopper, I know you can do it!

Who else was out on a utilitaire? Let me know in the comments and, if you blogged about it, include a link. Thanks, and welcome to week three of the Utilitaire 12 challenge!

Responses to “Utilitaire 12, Week Two Roundup”

  1. Mike Binnix

    I did my Utilitaire rides Friday and Saturday but didn’t get the blog posts up until this evening. Great fun.

    http://www.chesapeakesailor.net/2012/02/utilitaire-312-bank.html

    http://www.chesapeakesailor.net/2012/02/utilitaire-4-of-12-breakfast.html

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    1. MG

      Did I tell you that your bank receipt made me laugh out loud? SUCH a randonneur!

      Like

  2. Rootchopper

    Fail,
    Well, I crapped out. Both days this weekend required being out and about in the car. After Saturday night’s marathon of watching zombies on TV, I slept hardly at all and woke up sick (no taste for human flesh though). Drove my daughter to Dulles and stopped at the drug store on the way home. i tried to ride in my basement but my body calls for rest and Nyquil. Despite not making the Utilitaire grade, I am hoping to bike commute all five day this week. I plan on getting the Mrs. some candy and roses on the way home tomorrow night for Valentine’s Day on Tuesday.
    As for the rest of you, keep riding.

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  3. bikes1bytes2bites3

    Not a Utilitaire — since not documented. Nevertheless: Got out the winter bike, with the studded tires (although I only encountered two spots of half-frozen slush). Added the pogies (actually Side-Trak Cli-mitts, which I see from a web search may no longer be available), since the wind chill was in the teens. For a total of 12 miles I saw a movie; had dinner; and saw a show. Got home about 10 PM. The winter bike needs better lights.

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  4. John Romeo Alpha

    I’ve started tracking my rides in Utilitaire 12, planning a night ride to the grocery store, and a concert up next!

    http://onespeedgo.blogspot.com/2012/02/utilitaire-12-any-store-that-is-not.html

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    1. MG

      Awesome. I thought the concert would be tricky, but people seem to be proving me wrong!

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  5. bikesncoffee

    I got my hair cut and saw a movie last week… 🙂

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  6. Nicole

    I have both of my week 2 posts up now!
    I saw a concert and got my haircut!

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    1. Nicole

      Hm. My links aren’t working for some reason. Here is the less pretty version.

      Concert: http://www.pedalnpurl.com/2012/02/14/utilitaire-ride-live-music
      Haircut: http://www.pedalnpurl.com/2012/02/15/utilitaire-ride-haircut

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      1. MG

        So funny to me how many people are getting haircuts during the challenge. I did not realize they happened with such frequency! Oh, and Nicole, I read about your concert… very cool!

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      2. Nicole

        Glad you liked it! And to think I almost made that about the Fish Market… what was I thinking??

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Comments & questions welcome. Keep it civil, por favor!