Wayback Wednesday, Throwback Thursday

I'm no stranger to getting called into active duty at Wash Cycle. Actually, it happened last Wednesday evening:

That was the first time I'd worked a cycling shift in well over a month, which means it's become somewhat of a rarity. That's still largely the case, but I was asked to help out on the residential cycling team again this week, this time in the morning yesterday. That's something I think I haven't done since I started this blog nearly 3 years ago:

Interesting that this happened as I approach my three year anniversary with Wash Cycle over this coming weekend...

As you can see, it was just just beginning to lighten up when I began. There's something kinda neat about biking early in the morning. For one, you get to see the sunrise depending on what time of year it is. Not the best pic, but you get the idea:

There's also the inherent good feelings that come with being active early in the morning: waking up to the smell of fresh ground coffee, stepping outside to crisp Autumn air (at least this time of year), hitting the road with very little traffic in sight, and when things go right, there's the added bonus of making a customer happy as they start their day. I almost miss waking up at 5:45 every morning. Almost.

I haven't had my eyes too thick into the delivery operation lately, so I was mighty surprised to see my favorite old bike still in operation. Of course I had to take Old Gray out for a spin:

He's been operational since just before we opened our North Philly plant in 2015, and he was the bike I used to help open that facility - a true throwback. The cycling Gods only know how many thousands of miles he's logged since then. He's getting a bit worse for the wear, but he still performed adequately and I had no issues with the route yesterday:

As luck would have it, the weather was once again ideal and I was asked to do it again today:

Overall, a bit cooler this morning, but one tends not to notice whilst hauling a hundred pounds of laundry. Sadly, Old Gray had been grabbed by another cyclist, so I had to use one of the yellow guys:

The yellow bikes are newer, but I'm not sure by how much. It's just as well, as today's route was more saturated, including 2 last minute stops outside my scheduled territory:

I ended up riding alongside the former executive director of the Bicycle Coalition. We chatted briefly whilst stuck in traffic on 20th St. in Center City. He knew our company's history, so I brought him up to speed on recent and future events. He, in turn, brought me up to speed on his happenings: founding a new transportation advocacy non-profit called Pennsylvanians for Transit. Very cool. I'll keep them on my radar for sure.

The last two days are not my typical days, but I have no complaints other than mild exhaustion, which I'm sure is the result of not being accustomed to a 5:45 wake up. I'm kind of excited because I already know I'll be on the same routes again next Wednesday and Thursday morning. This was borne out of a sudden change, as you might imagine. More positive changes are on the horizon here, so this will very likely be the last time I'll get to do this, too. Here's hoping the weather cooperates again next week...