Bait and switch Florida bicycle style

So the deal in Florida is that you can get a decent rate on a bicycle rental but you will then discover that they have rented you a road bicycle without pedals not for the usual expected reason, which would be that many road cyclists are reasonably expected to have a pedal preference and probably shoes with cleats that match the preferred pedals.  No need to install any pedals until you discover what the preferred pedals are.

No, in Florida the reason why there are no pedals is so that they can charge for installing and removing pedals from the bicycle that you have just rented.

There are lots of violations there probably starting first with a violation of basic human decency.  Come on, that just ain't right.

Then there is the Uniform Commercial Code implied warranty of fitness for a specific purpose.  If you are the "seller" in a commercial transaction (which by code definition includes rentals) with a "buyer" and the subject of the transaction is a bicycle then there is a warranty made that the "bicycle" is going to fit to be used as a "bicycle".  A bicycle without pedals is not fit to be used as a bicycle because clearly a bicycle without pedals is a scooter, and a poor one at that.

Then there is plain old ordinary fraud.  If you advertise that what I am renting is a "bicycle" and if what I rent cannot be used as a bicycle until after I pay an additional fee I have been subjected to bait and switch.

Well, that was fun but we managed to bluster our way out of there without paying the addtional installation fee.  Be advised to bring your own pedals AND your own pedal wrench if you ever consider renting a bicycle from that particular establishment.

So that was yesterday.  I further add that even a few miles on a bicycle when you have not, as I have not, ridden at all in over three months will produce a certain amount of discomfort.  For me it was stiffness between the shoulders as a result of 90 or so minutes of assuming the position one necessarily assumes when riding a road bike.

Today was rainy morning after all night thunder boomers.  Bicycling would not have been a good idea at all, even without the stiff shoulders.

We mostly walked the new linear park down at the upper end of the harbor near the bridge.

There was a white bird.

Much, much closer than you can get to same species white birds that I often come across within bicycle ride distance of my house.

What I like about this shot is probably not what the other photographer liked about this shot.

There is an area shaped such that you could position a community band or a public speaker or some such thing with the harbor as a background and then room for a crowd to assemble in front.

What I found amusing is that preparation has already been made of places there in the grass in front of the speaker for people to place their lawn chairs.

On concrete pads, which is probably handy as the soil tends towards sandy and/or wet.

But I am most amused by the implicit crowd control being exercised by making sure the people in chairs are lined up in rows.

This one is really good.  There is a plaque on the park bench listing a dedication by a donor.  The plaque also includes the name of the artist, Samantha Hultgren.

Which is kind of interesting because the artwork itself is signed by the artist, Charleen B. Elliott.

Of the Florida Elliotts no doubt.

Blue bird.

Again, much, much closer than I can get blah, blah, blah, blah.

When near the ocean eat seafood.  It is much fresher there than the "fresh" seafood available in the center of the continent.

Fresh salmon with parsley and lemon, roasted vegetables, an excellent rice medley and freshly baked corn bread.

There is considerable lobbying at present for a blind taste test to determine the best key lime pie available in the immediate area.