Adventures of a New Commuter
Posted by Anthony Taylor Thursday, May 13, 2010
Adventures of a New Commuter documents the bike commuting travels of an overweight, over-enthusiastic and overly creative fellow. This journal isn’t always presented in chronological order, but should be entertaining and occasionally informative.
Second Commute
Commute Time: 1 hour
Number of times I walked: 1
Number of dirty looks recieved: 5
Completely unsafe view from my handlebars
Second consecutive day of commuting. Actually, I rode my bike to work and took the bus home yesterday and I intend to do the same today. Not as hard to get on the bike this morning knowing I’ve already done this once. My butt isn’t nearly as sore as I thought it was going to be. I know the seat claims to be full of “power gel,” but I’m not entirely sure they had me in mind when they were lab testing it. I don’t feel like I’m in too bad a shape this morning for riding to work the day before. My quads hurt quite a bit. I think. Those are the muscles on top of your legs right?
Anyway, I made a commitment that I would ride through all intersections today. No walking the bike across streets today. I’m a big boy…right? Well…almost. Crossing Ashlan on Van Ness seemed a bit too harrowing for me. I reluctantly disembarked and got ready to walk the beast across the street. A spandex laden mountain biker with all the fixins, pulled up next to me. He smirked and shook his head at me with obvious mocking disdain. I was ashamed that I could not handle my vehicle with the same confidence as this Biking God. At the first break in traffic he buzzed off and my bike and I limped across the busy street.
I hopped back on and tried to put my feelings behind me. I was doing the right thing, right? If I didn’t feel comfortable, then I shouldn’t risk death. And what was his problem anyway? What happened to supporting people who were just beginning to embrace your own passionate outdoor activities? Sheesh. I channeled my sheepish embarassment into a healthy dose of anger and resentment and rode on to work.
Between Gettysburg and Shaw, I saw my yellow-jerseyed nemesis emerge from behind a bush on the left hand side of the road. He was frenetically examining leaves and looking at me nervously as I rode by. What a weirdo. I looked back as I rode past and saw his bike tucked back behind the large bush. I had a dramatic realization.
Biking God had stopped to pee on the side of the road and I caught him. Not red handed exactly, but he had obviously been caught doing something he felt silly getting caught doing! Well…let me just say…that made ME feel better. I mean…yeah, he’s faster and better at riding bikes than me, that much is true. But at least I can hold off the urge to pee on the side of the road on the way to work.
All in all, a good trip this morning. Can’t wait to ride to work again. Starting to think I need a bike of my own…
The Dreaded "Ashlan/Van Ness" Crossing
