Travel complications 2019

Jane and John, Palma de Majorca, May, 2019

First let me say, everybody has problems.

My youthful frugality has served me well and has seen me through some troubling times.

I had a plan to finish my last two years of school that required saving money, which I did. Without complicating the story, somebody beat me to the money leaving me desperate. My dear old dad extended me enough to carry me through if I was extremely frugal and worked after school and weekends.

He set an example for me. As a young man my dad had developed three newspaper routes, cleaned a drug store before high school every morning, and repaired bicycles in his spare time. He walked five miles a day to save a nickel bus fare to get his pharmacy degree...my dad was no stranger to frugality.

When I finished my school I paid dad back in full...I know that he would have forgiven the debt, but I knew that this was a point of trustworthiness and honor. We both were happy. I then went on to pay off my house mortgage only making bank interest payments on while finishing school. By paying ahead on the mortgage I made my last mortgage payment at age 28, owned my home, car, and business, never again needing to feed bankers. Thank you Dad!

Being debt free the rest of my life set me free to fulfill my dreams and see me through two devastating economic collapses without being foreclosed upon. Frugality was resumed!

Four years ago I went to the doctor with a urinary infection and came away with problems: walking in and coming out crippled. Thirty days of the antibiotic Cipro left me with tendinitis, painful leg spasms, and sudden onset instability from low blood pressure. I still had my urinary infection which I resolved myself. Trust in the Mexican government social security medical system was gone.

This led to a long and tedious recovery that has not been 100%, the tendinitis could be lasting. A special diet, daily full body massages, plus walking with trekking sticks was imperative.

I longed to bicycle again, but that was looking impossible.

Eventually I discovered I could use my small folding bicycle as a walker for daily therapy. After two months I put the seat low and tried getting on...this was very difficult. Next I tried pushing with my feet. Eventually I was able to get my feet on the pedals...I had some colossal crashes. After a month my instability still held me back. My persistence story continues.

Today I ride my bicycle every day...it is limited to quiet streets on relatively level ground. Getting started is difficult, and it is imperative to dismount to cross busy intersections.

To this day I can not step up or down a curb without a hand rail or my little bicycle used as a walker. Standing in line for five minutes is painful and my limit. I am thankful for what I can do and always think of my dear old friend George Tappin, who on his deathbed said to me, “John, I would give anything if I could just walk out that door”.

This year we planned a Europe trip to Madrid, Palma de Majorca, and northern Germany/Netherlands. Our health was the number one consideration. Jane’s blood pressure and asthma had to be under control. She has done heroic measures over the years of diet, exercise, and radically reducing medications by strict adherence to diet, not imbibing corporate prepared foods plus low salt and sugar. Our ecologically friendly home and surroundings are virtually chemical free and that includes insecticides.

I will keep this brief …nearly twenty years ago Jane had a heart attack, her wonderful doctor got her on a strict diet that enabled her to get off all of her medications while controlling her weight, and she was cross country bicycling within two weeks...at a sensible rate. She later needed glaucoma medications that she eventually developed an allergic reaction to. Luckily the one eliminated did not cause any eye complications, but blood pressure needed controlling.

Jane was at the IMSS Mexican social security medical clinic for her yearly vaccinations, and they took her blood pressure. It was too high, they gave her medication and asked when the last time her doctor tested her. The doctor never tested her though Jane had visited monthly. The IMSS director made a schedule for Jane to get daily blood pressure evaluations. Jane’s doctor prescribed three asthma medications. Amazingly Jane’s asthma became severe and her blood pressure erratic. Jane in desperation made an appointment with her private doctor. Her doctor heard her coughing in the waiting room, and when she came in told her that the problem of high blood pressure was caused by her cough and an infection. Then her private doctor saw Jane’s medications prescribed by IMSS and discovered all three of them induced coughing complications. He prescribed a blood pressure medicine to be taken only when needed. This was the answer and Jane’s health miraculously improved, and we both were feeling great.

We were happy and our Europe trip plans could be put back on schedule.

Two more health calamities occurred. The first was the blood pressure medicine bought for our three month Europe trip turned out to be a fake, and Jane nearly had a stroke due to spiked blood pressure. Thankfully our dear friend Helga in Germany got Jane good medicine and that problem was put behind us. The next problem was a mysterious fluke. Briefly: When we were disembarking our flight at Palma de Majorca we noticed a baggage handler give our folding bicycles flying lessons complete with crash landings. Jane’s sprocket was badly bent, but I had the ability to bend it back into alignment. Less than a week later we were biking in Germany, and I took a colossal crash, broke my bicycle helmet and received a brain concussion. My sprocket was also broken but the chain guard has splintered and formed a hook that snatched my bike pants into the sprocket and sent me flying. The reason this didn’t happen at Palma de Majorca was that  I wore short biking pants when bike there.

A note: Our Dahon folding bicycles made eight trans Atlantic crossing and miraculously survived brutal handling, this was the crowning punishment. They are still rolling with us.

More exotic bicycles from the 1890’s to 2011

         This photo was taken seven years before Ford produced his first automobile in 1903.
The above photo was taken in 1896 in Superior, Wisconsin, at a studio on Conner’s Point then known as West Superior. Left is Christ “C.C.” Grimsrud b.1879, my grandfather.  Next is Louis the (adopted stepson of Martin Grimsrud b.1862) and Hans Grimsrud b.1877 and the older brother of C.C. Grimsrud. Christ, Hans and Martin were all brothers born in Norway who immigrated to America before 1895.
The era was referred to as “the golden age of bicycles”. My grandfather Christ, on the left, had a Victor bicycle, the first with pneumatic tires that were glued onto lightweight wooden rims. Hundreds of firms were competing in this intense market of high demand where the typical bicycle was selling for $100.00.
The bicycle in the center is equipped with a carbide lamp, the same type used by miners.

Bicycles Today

Ootsmarsum, Netherlands attracts tourists from all across Europe and most arrive by bicycle. This is the heart of cycling along the German border where each town has its weekly market day and outdoor dining places line the quaint old time streets.

Ootmarsum, Netherlands; this bicycle shop has a steady flow of touring cyclers from all around Europe and many local accommodations are known as B & B’s, that is bed and bike hotels.

 Jane admires a 16 inch British made folding bicycle. These interesting little bikes have evolved into serious transportation vehicles because they not only go fast and are terrific in traffic, but they fold quickly to take aboard trains, airplanes and even into your hotel or office.

 Exotic? German Blitzkrieg, “lightning strike” Messerschmitt Luftwaffe flying machine with its locomotive sized air horn is engineered to make an outrageous statement.

 The German mailman goes in sun and snow and doesn’t burn a drop of fuel.

Parked on ancient cobble stones this relic of the past milk delivery bicycle has enjoyed a long life of service in rural Georgsdorf, Germany and still rolls.

 A city shopper trails a kiddy kart equipped for rain or shine on the quiet and clean streets of Nordhorn, Germany. It is hard to top this place for neat, clean and quiet.

Made in Germany, this alloy three speed folding bicycle comes complete with halogen running lights that activate automatically and run off from an internal generator. The amazing thing is that a tote bag for shipping on an airplane is included and all sells for 200€ or $260.00 U.S.D.  This is the sale price at Aldi chain stores in Europe.

Pedal powered and ecologically friendly freight hauling neatly hits the streets of Germany. This man is keeping the country clean by recycling without burning a drop of fossil fuel.

A happy biker cruises the smooth paved bicycle path along one of the many canals of Nordhorn, Germany, on the latest Dahon alloy folding bike. Folding bicycles all across Europe have recently become very popular for commuters and campers like the man above who has his camper van rig parked at the city’s municipal camping place.

This is Yucatán, Mexico where these exotic bicycles are for the young.

20 inch tricycles make a scaled down shopping cart convenient for short trips. This is Yucatan, Mexico and the price tag is in pesos and equivalent of less than $200 US.

 

This flea-market is delivered and set up using only people powered tricycles or triciclo de carga.

 

This young man in the photo above went the extra mile to dazzle with glitter and glitz.

 

Eligio Chi Perez, pictured above, begins his day before sunup by riding his bicycle seven kilometers from his home in Colonia Bojorquez to the Diario de Yucatán office in downtown Mérida to pick up the newspapers to deliver.

Each day his delivery of 175 newspapers takes him as far north as the Grand Plaza area, eight kilometers from downtown.
Still smiling seventy-one year old Eligio has faithfully made his rounds for the past fifty-two years.
Amazingly he has only worn out two bicycles in the process and not burned a single drop of gasoline.
A special congratulations to one of Yucatán’s most ecologically friendly citizens, Eligio Chi Perez.

Ready to roll home when the work day is finished this home made tricycle converted to a fruit drink bar expands into a curbside business.

 

A portable welding shop hits the streets of Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. These tricycle’s are pressed into service for everything from taxis to mini-restaurants.

This bike started life as a conservative Schwinn but when Carlos *Cherli” Dzidz Chí got it, he has 'mexicanized' it with reflectors, ribbons and fancy do-dads. Now it is exotic.

Biking on the streets of Yucatán; one kid to steer, one for locomotion and a passenger aft.  A device called a “diablo”, or devil is fastened to the axle shaft ends and is designed to stand on making extended passenger carrying capacity possible in the land where safety is an option.

Cross country in Yucatán on our Dahon folding bicycles - with our starting point far off in the distance of the Puuc hills, Jane and I halt on a hill top to collect our breath and hydrate.

©2011 John M. Grimsrud

For more on bicycling Yucatán, Mexico, and Europe check out our website at
www.bicycleyucatan.com

To read more about the golden age of bicycles, I recommend The Lost Cyclist by David V. Herlihy.