Will Food for Bike

Sometimes it pays to ride a bike, and not just financially.

Earlier this week, I was talking with my friends and mentors at The Strengthening Health Institute. They had a seminar coming up this week/weekend, and I usually help out in the kitchen preparing meals for students and staff. Due to my work schedule, I wouldn't be available for this one during the days, so I couldn't make my usual contribution.

That doesn't mean there wasn't work available. Any of you who've ever worked for a small business or a non-profit know that there's always something else that needs to be done. See, the head chef also cooks privately on the side, which sometimes involves deliveries. These seminars are typically an 8AM-830PM schedule, leaving little room to fit anything else into a daily schedule.

This is where I come in handy. I was asked if I could help out with said deliveries. She couldn't have picked a better person for the job, right? I put this bad boy on the back of my bike on Wednesday, packed to the gills with amazing macrobiotic food:

I'm being paid not in dollars and cents, but rather a delicious barter. Dinners (and occasionally lunches) every day:

You might think it's not worth it, but as a guy still largely living the bachelor lifestyle, not having to cook dinner for a few days is much appreciated even though I love to cook. It's just one less thing to worry about, and I get to do something else I love because of it. Everybody wins.

I also had the reason to "level up" my cargo capacity for the first time this week. The meal sizes increased the last couple days, so I switched to the crate:

An added benefit, because it's orange it also makes my bike even more visible. I go back and forth on whether or not I like the crate for day-to-day use. It's a bit of an overkill for most of my usual days, but considering how often I use my bike for errands, it's good to have extra cargo space whenever possible. I still much prefer either of my approaches to the bulky backpacks utilized by Caviar and other bike delivery services, but to each their own.

One thing I can't argue with, the weather has been absolutely beautiful the last few days up to and including last night, making night riding very pleasant:

I haven't been out yet today, but it looks to be very similar. This is the first Saturday in what feels like forever that I won't need to hop in my car to work my other side job, so I'm taking full advantage of the opportunity to be lazy for a while. I'll have another delivery this evening (and tomorrow before it's back to reality). The monthly Philly Full Moon Bike Ride is also tonite, so I may join in that too. We'll see.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

#bikeyourbirthmonth