Cycle Skills: How to do a sliding stop

In today's blog post, I'm going to show you an easy way to perform a sliding stop on a bicycle. This is also known as the hockey stop, where you turn at an angle to your motion and let friction between your wheels and the road bring you to a halt.

1. First, load approximately 20 pounds of groceries in the rear basket of your bicycle.
   
2. Next, begin cycling north on Bridge St. If you don't live in Cambridge (the original one), find a street busy with vehicles and pedestrians.
3. As you approach a bus picking up passengers ahead of you, begin to slow down.
4. Now, get cut off by a taxi that had been following you, but now does not appreciate your slower speed.
   
5. Immediately after the taxi passes you, the driver will notice the bus approximately 50 feet in front of him, and will quickly apply his brakes.
6. As soon as the taxi's brake lights turn on, you will have an immediate, instinctive reaction: you will squeeze both brakes as tightly as possible, and begin to swerve to avoid partaking in Britain's free health care system.
7. With any luck, the previous day you will have repaired a flat tire on your bicycle, and after returning the tire to your cycle, you will have neglected to tighten the front brake. Thus, when you engage the brakes, the rear tire will lock in place, and begin to skid, while the front tire warms up from a bit of friction.
   
8. The combination of the rear wheel skid, the heavy load in the rear basket, and the attempt to swerve around an emergency room visit will cause you to rotate quickly and come to a sliding halt.

Now, this may sound like a difficult maneuver to learn, but honestly, it was no trouble at all for me: I got it on the first try. A word of caution: don't attempt this looking for applause - you likely won't get any. However, depending on your proximity to the bus stop queue, you will probably be rewarded with gasps and some German profanity.

What I Learned From Our Trip Back Home

(in no specific order)

1) Neck pillows are amazing.
2) Jordan cries.
3) I really miss all of our stuff.
4) I like central heating and air conditioning.
5) Being sick on Christmas is very sad.
6) I have a new appreciation of toast.
7) I recommend getting married; it doubles your loved ones.
8) I really like flannel pajamas.
9) Texas weather is ridiculous.
and the one that takes the cake...
10) Seeing friends and family only once every few months makes having to say goodbye unbearable.