Car Free Bike Lady Karin Vartowski
06-13-11, 09:48 PM
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Car Free Bike Lady Karin Vartowski
A wonderful story about a carfree bike lady Karin Vartowski who passed away at 71. I remember reading how she raised her three kids on her bicycle! She rode in ALL weather, rain, snow or summer heat! She was incredible.
I remember reading how she would carry bikes home and all sorts of heavy items and she was only 5'3! I almost forgot, she never owned a car!
I think the statement from her says it all.
“You feel so much more alive when you are outside in all kinds of weather. Your body stays in tune with what’s out there,” she once said. “Bicycling is always an ad*ven*ture and a mystery.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...oQH_story.html
I remember reading how she would carry bikes home and all sorts of heavy items and she was only 5'3! I almost forgot, she never owned a car!
I think the statement from her says it all.
“You feel so much more alive when you are outside in all kinds of weather. Your body stays in tune with what’s out there,” she once said. “Bicycling is always an ad*ven*ture and a mystery.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/...oQH_story.html
06-13-11, 10:08 PM
#2
In the right lane
Great story!
“I love the smell of stuff that I bring home on my bike,” Mrs. Vartowski told The Washington Post in 1995. “There is nothing that compares with the scent of a ripe tomato that’s warm from the sun — that smell can make you happy for days.”
06-13-11, 10:17 PM
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I love her! What a beautiful smile!
06-14-11, 02:08 PM
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I'm going to dedicate my summer rides to Karin Vartowski this year. It'll be great to remember her when I'm hot and tired and lugging a big load on my bike.
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06-14-11, 05:03 PM
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That most of her kids are so involved in automobiles seems like something straight out of Mad Magazine, where the generations alternated, the kids of leather jacketed punks turned out to be straight arrow...
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06-14-11, 06:30 PM
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In the right lane
However, after a while, they realized how boring it was. (especially when Hulu came around)
06-14-11, 08:48 PM
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...082800007.html
06-15-11, 05:01 AM
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Agreed. I'm going to dedicate my next ride after Karin. Here are some more older stories.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...082800007.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...082800007.html
Amazing how some people like Karin go through life with no car and enjoy it to the fullest, yet are quite often labeled eccentric.
Aaron
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ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
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Aluminum: barely a hundred
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Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
06-16-11, 06:56 PM
#11
In the right lane
Being somewhat who is thoughtful about all aspects of life is also a great thing to aspire to. Seems like Karin was there.
06-17-11, 12:51 PM
#12
Sophomoric Member
As we get older, most people stop giving a damn abput what other people think of them. With lucky people like Karin (and I'm sure many on this forum) they realize that when they're still young.
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