I passed a craft brewery, which was newly opened, but it was still morning, and not open yet. The floral arrangements were spectacular, and I had to stop and take a photo.
I was impressed by the divided bike lanes along US 23, although I was confused at one point when the bike lane going north was on the left side of the street, between the bike lane and the vehicle traffic going South. But I was able to cross over at an intersection and get into the flow.
I arrived at my destination before check-in time, so I rode over to the Short North Area to find lunch at a poke bowl shop. Then I found the Dandy bike shop, where I purchased two CO2 cartridges and the owner, 87 years old, added air to my tires. The back one was fairly low, which I guess is not too surprising with all the extra weight. I biked through a few tree-lined neighborhoods and I observed a lot of college-age people riding bikes, scooters, and walking. The definition of a livable neighborhood.
I returned to the hostel and unloaded my bike, carrying my packs up the narrow stairs to my room. I plugged in my phone to recharge, and proceeded downstairs to the common area. There was a young man there who offered to help me to use the computer, which we never did get to start up. It may have just been an input-output station with keyboard and monitor. He offered to change the default language on his phone so I could use it. He was a Czech. But we talked a little about travelling in a country where you aren't perfectly fluent in the language. I remembered my experience as a foreign exchange student in Spain almost fifty years ago. He was not a student, but had been working with a friend who operates heavy equipment in the Mansfield area (coincidence!) while he was touring the USA.
He had a dilemma, he had some problem with his credit card, and needed to get to a WalMart today to get it fixed. He noted that he had chosen the hostel because they advertised rental bikes, only to learn on his arrival that the program was discontinued due to Covid. There are Lyft bikes, but he noted that they are too expensive. It was too far to walk to WalMart, and the bus schedule apparently did not meet his needs. Trains are non-existent here, compared to in Europe. I could not take him to WalMart on my bike. I pointed out to him that perhaps a local bike shop would rent him a bike, as there are two within walking distance. I also advised him to get in touch with the hostel operator, as they may have access to local resources, and sincerely wished him the best of luck.
So out of curiosity, this morning, I checked on how to use the Lyft bike program under CoGo (Columbus Go?). I had seen Lyft bike stations and Lime scooter stations about every two blocks in this area.
The first thing that happened when I went on the web site is it wanted to install an app on my phone. Nope. It also seemed that you must start by registering with an $85 deposit.
Unfortunate if your credit card isn't working.
Last night I rode again the few blocks over to the Short North, and got a hamburger at a brewpub. I elected not to drink any beer, but maybe some time I will return to sample it. After dinner I returned to my room and elected to rest in my room, rather than socialize in the common area. There were apparently quite a few guests in the hostel and there was a lot going on.
This morning I met the hostel operator, Robbie, and I asked him to check in on my Czech friend. He said he would, and he showed me how to get the Internet thin client going.
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