There Is Such Thing As A Free Lunch (Title Updated)

It's winter, and it's brutal, but I'm riding every day. I want to meet more people who are doing the same. So I'm holding a Twitter contest to see who I will take to lunch tomorrow. RULES: . That is all.

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Permalink Reply by Alex on February 5, 2014 at 6:59am

retweeted this through TCL's twitter!

 

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on February 5, 2014 at 7:55am

This looks like more of a contest for Northwest neighborhood rider/workers with short commutes. Have fun, in any case.

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on February 5, 2014 at 9:32am

I work in an office downtown. I don't know Logan Square very well (I live in Hyde Park), but as Google flies it looks like a 30 minute commute by bike down Milwaukee. Add in gear-up/gear-down time (office clothes in this weather and road conditions?) and it's a big time commitment for a free lunch. I'm not sure who you're going to get on this offer apart from people for whom it's a quick trip.

I enjoy riding in winter and do it absolutely as often as I think I can, and I would love to talk shop with an "expert" to figure out how to solve the problems I (think I) have with riding through the days that cause me to bail. But I simply don't satisfy your stipulated conditions - I don't ride every day. I guess I'll just have to "mope" over my own lunch.

Like I said, have fun.


ChiBikeGeek said:

Simon: I live in the South Loop. I picked those locations because they're a bit of a ride for me (and because the food is amazing at all of them).

But I'm easily swayed and would amend the destinations for good food and to meet someone new who loves to ride winter. DM! You *could* win! 

Permalink Reply by Vilda on February 5, 2014 at 2:56pm
In order to dm on twitter both parties must follow each other. Otherwise it's just tweeting @ you.
Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on February 5, 2014 at 3:01pm

I find this interesting, as well. What do you suppose it means?

ChiBikeGeek said:

Lots of clicks (39!), but still no winner in my experimental Twitter DM bribe/contest/meetup thing.

For those paying attention to the rules, that means I've received ZERO DMs. Interesting experiment though, and I'm glad I tried it. Jury still out on whether I eat amazing food alone tomorrow.

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on February 5, 2014 at 3:30pm
Let's go for costa rican food again!

ChiBikeGeek said:

Lots of clicks (39!), but still no winner in my experimental Twitter DM bribe/contest/meetup thing.

For those paying attention to the rules, that means I've received ZERO DMs. Interesting experiment though, and I'm glad I tried it. Jury still out on whether I eat amazing food alone tomorrow.

Permalink Reply by Julia 3.5/7.5 mi on February 5, 2014 at 5:50pm
Bummer, I do the exact opposite of your commute! Have a lovely lunch with whomever gets it!
Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on February 10, 2014 at 7:44am

Feel free to read into my comments whatever serves your self-made maya best. The truth of it was that I was just trying to express some skepticism about your contest without making assertions about your character - a courtesy you don't seem interested in returning. I'd hoped to convey to you that you were really limiting yourself from meeting with a lot of people who could have benefited from your experience and devotion, and they perhaps might have had something to talk about besides bikes and how awesome they are for having biked through frostbite-inducing weather (like the novel they read on the train that day, instead). But you're confident that your 1.5 "winners" were exactly the sorts of people you wanted to meet, and not the sorts of people you didn't want to meet - so be it.

There's not really much that I can say that will help you to understand how your contest (or the things you've written about it) comes across, nor do I think that trying to do so will be productive or community-respecting. But I will ask that you avoid asserting that, for me, it was a matter of weighing the pecuniary value of a free lunch against more office time and my own lunch. I don't need to be metaphysically corrupted for you to be awesome. I quite appreciate that meeting a new person who shares your interests could have been worth the trouble.

*** You expressed this in your initial reply, and your response is a good read of the way you perceived the value of the offer, and by extension, what motivates you:

Add in gear-up/gear-down time (office clothes in this weather and road conditions?) and it's a big time commitment for a free lunch. 

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on February 10, 2014 at 7:52am

I know you and don't think you are a weirdo at all. 

ChiBikeGeek said:

* For brevity: yes. Ask a number of the people here. Some have met me IRL. They know I'm a weirdo.

 

Permalink Reply by Simon Phearson on February 10, 2014 at 11:27am

I sure hope that this has all just been a misunderstanding on my part. I honestly don't want to think of you as being primarily interested in elitist self-flattery, which is the impression I've perhaps mistakenly gotten. So if I've misunderstood your message, intent, and tone, and the (in)flexibility of your contest's conditions, I sincerely apologize. I'm happy and able to "reach beyond whatever barriers have arisen," if you feel the same way.

That said, I have a few questions: was it the case that this contest was only open to people who bike every single day through the winter, and not just most days? If so, will that be the case when you repeat it? 

Permalink Reply by Laura on February 10, 2014 at 2:48pm

I think the two of you should have lunch.

Also, it would not be fair if "ChiBikeGeek" were to require you to bike every single day through winter, since from my understanding, he may be in warmer climate for part of the winter.  Sorry just trying to stir the pot.

Simon Phearson said:

I sure hope that this has all just been a misunderstanding on my part. I honestly don't want to think of you as being primarily interested in elitist self-flattery, which is the impression I've perhaps mistakenly gotten. So if I've misunderstood your message, intent, and tone, and the (in)flexibility of your contest's conditions, I sincerely apologize. I'm happy and able to "reach beyond whatever barriers have arisen," if you feel the same way.

That said, I have a few questions: was it the case that this contest was only open to people who bike every single day through the winter, and not just most days? If so, will that be the case when you repeat it? 

Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on February 11, 2014 at 2:50am
This is one of the most entertaining threads. You make me laugh and smile.

ChiBikeGeek said:

First, misunderstood. Next, outed as a potential snowbird smack in the middle of my opus of righteous, public self-congratulation. *Sigh* that's enough internet for one day for me.

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