Week by Bike

Now that it's getting dark by 5:50 pm, driving a ways to park and then ride is much safer.

The winds that blew in San Diego blew down here in Tucson as well. My commutes were dusty and windy, mes amis.

Oh yeah--here's something. I had been putting the bike rack on my car, because when I have the fenders on my old Raleigh, I would bump them getting them in and out of the trunk. This would put them all out of balance and the tire would rub on the fender. It was a disaster and frustrated me to no end, and then I'd start slamming and cramming the bike, without any luck--into the trunk.

I figured out how to put the bike in the car without screwing things up! I need to use my head and be more thoughtful.

See one thing I detest are loud people--people who slam things shut, or toss things down with a ker blam. Since Bev has been in Afghanistan, I've been doing grocery shopping--and one thing I've noticed about some people (usually women) is that they pick out their box or bag of whatever and wack it down in their shopping cart--kind of like how they might slap their snot-nosed un-ruly offspring. Same when in the checkout line; slam-- slam--slam. I see this as being base and blue collar. A gentleman with some education and manners, like myself, uses grace and poise at every step--to set myself apart from those types. So, why then am I struggling and getting my ass kicked by a bicycle, trying to force it in the trunk of my car? I did the same thing with my Campus Bike trying to cram it into my bike locker, swearing and shoving and cursing. I suppose that I'm really no better than anyone else out there in the world--oh well. But I do try to step back and think about things...

Anyway, I noticed that if there's one thing people driving in this one-horse town hate more than a bike in the road, its a a bike on the rack on the trunk of a car. People will go out of thier way not to be behind you. Kind of like when you're driving to work, and you see a snow bird talking on a cell phone while driving a Buick--time to get around that old slow-driving fool!

So with the bike neatly tucked into the car, and with the ability to remove and re-insert after the commute is done--well, I suppose I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I took the car into the dealership for an oil change one day this week. I took it first thing. There was a line of about four cars behind me. These poor souls would have to deal with the courtesy van to get a ride to work. Imagine being stuffed into a van with a bunch of people and their all talking on their cell phones... Instead of being respectful and polite to one another. I popped the bike out of the trunk and rode on my way. A few people waiting looked at me and thought that I had a pretty good idea with that.

The guys that work at the dealership don't quite know what to think--the owner of the dealership is a guy named Jim Click, and appearently he's into cycling in a big way here in Tucson. So my feeling is they don't dare mess with another bike rider or he would have their head.

What else? On the bike path going home, people are running, walking their dogs, and generally looking happy. Smiles and friendly waves all around.

Cheers!