Hello, Everyone:
It’s now November and one month before 2026 is gone and a new year begins. Tomorrow are the midterm elections, so if you are dissatisfied with the current state of the country (like many are, including me), make sure to get out and vote on Tuesday and, hopefully, some change will result.
Over the weekend, Daylight Saving Time occurred, which means we gained an hour. But I don’t really get that point of view. As I see it, we lose an hour of daylight, which means it will become harder to get out on a bike ride before night falls. This is definitely one of the times of the year I heartily dislike. The good news is that the weather is still relatively warm, and there still might be a few warm days left to comfortably ride outside before the cold of winter begins in earnest.
In England, a new event took place known as bicycle jousting. You might be familiar with the event held during the Middle Ages, where two knights would face off on horseback, ride full speed toward each other, then lower their lances (spears) in an attempt to knock each other off their horses. Those knights were either seriously hurt or sometimes even killed. The whole point was entertainment for royalty and for a knight to show off his prowess.
But in the spirit of good fun, jousting has made a comeback but not with horses but bicycles. Most of the time, participants ride Lime bikes, the timed rental bikes that appear in every city, and lances made of PVC tubes. But there is one hold out from medieval times: the rider who loses the match can still sustain injuries from being pushed off his bike, but most of the riders wear armor to protect themselves (see picture below). The participants in the joust see this as a form of performance art and bring people together in a fun way, but perhaps it is also a way to quietly raise awareness about the use of bicycles.
Have a beautiful and brilliant week.
