Just recently, clusters of brand new, gleaming white e-bikes have appeared at certain locations on the streets of Aberdeen.
I even spotted three of them in Duthie Park yesterday on my early morning walk.
Several of my readers have in the past sympathised with my plight at being left at home alone while my owner Gail indulges her enthusiasm for (non-motor assisted) cycling with her Thursday morning ladies.
I wondered if these new bicycles, available for hire through a scheme recently introduced in the city, might provide a solution.
I checked out the bicycles front and back. I might even have 'christened' one of the tyres, but please don't tell anyone. Each bike even has its own individual name. (I suggest that a certain big dog friend in Florida enlarges the photos below to see what the one I was inspecting is called!)
Sadly I couldn't see any suitable equipment for facilitating dog transport other than the chihuahua-sized baskets attached to the front handlebars.
Hmm. It seems the e-bikes can be accessed via an app. I asked Gail to show me the website but, can you believe it, there appears to be no provision for carrying 7.5 kg wire-haired fox terriers on these bicycles!
The good news is that yesterday it was so windy, with heavy rain imminent, that Gail's cycling ladies (most unusually) opted to stay at home and, in one case at least, to tend to the emotional needs of their beloved WFT.
One has to question whether darkest November was the best time of year for Aberdeen City Council to start up a bike hire scheme....
Does this count as a Nature Friday post? Gail says that, with just the briefest of mentions of local weather conditions, I might be "stretching it a bit". But I do believe that our dear pals the LLB Gang will allow for some latitude in interpretation of their blog hop theme!
