Dave’s Good Stuff

I just dropped my car off for repair. Between the various bits and pieces that need fixing and/or replacing, it’s going to run me over $1,100. How’s that for irony? I ride my bike far more than I drive my car now, at least in terms of daily use, and yet I still plunk down thousands to keep it around. I’m thinking the day isn’t too far away that we become a one car household… All the same, it’ll be nice to have it in fully working order, without fear of being unable to stop, and without having to air up the slowly leaking tire every couple of days. I’m down to the last few payments, so after that, I’m going to ride this one to the ground.

After dropping off the car, I rode the slightly extra distance to work. It ended up being about a mile extra, which isn’t hardly worth noting, except that it was in the rain. It was coming down, if not overly hard, at least steady with a nice southeasterly cross and headwind. I do like riding in the rain, but being pelted in the face by hard little droplets thrown by an angry wind isn’t my idea of fun. Still, I made it just fine with nary an incident. I was wet, but my clothes in my panniers were dry. With coffee in hand, and wearing warm dry clothes, I’m ready to continue a very hectic and long week.

I have to mention a few things about last night’s commute. It was the most vocal of my relatively few commutes, by far.

• At about 99th and Walmer, I heard the following behind me: “BLEEAACCH!! BLEEACCAH!!” with another voice saying “… why they have sidewalks!” I looked around and it was a couple of high school kids in daddy’s big blue truck. It was awesome! I’m finally a Real Commuter!! I’ve had my first real heckler!
• At 95th and Lowell, as I was pulling up to the intersection and slowing to a stop, a lady in an SUV coming from my left had started into the intersection going straight. She saw me and stopped… dead in the middle of the intersection. “Oh nos! A bicyclers! Whatever am I to dos?” I was slowing to a stop with a foot out of the pedal and an arm signaling a left turn, and she stops in the middle of the intersection. I stop and stare in befuddlement. She stares back at me. The car opposite her gets tired of waiting and cuts in front of her to turn left. She apparently realizes that I’m not moving while she’s there, scowls at me (at ME!) and then moves on. What a hilarious idiot.
  It was uneventful until I got to 67th and Midland/Greenwood. Everyone did the Right Thing™, and obeyed right-of-way like a bunch of rock stars. I got to the intersection first, before the car to my left, and the car coming in the opposite direction. All of us were going straight. I went, followed by the car to my left. As I passed the car heading the opposite direction, I heard her yelling “WTF, B?!?!?” Another high school student. Oh, to have the blood pressure of youth…
• That covers it for the angry and stupid. Somewhere between Pflumm and Quivira on 67th, a man in a red pickup truck gave me a couple of short “beep beeps” with his horn, threw his arm out the window and gave me a thumbs up. He had that “attaboy!” look on his face. I waved back, smiled from the heart, and soaked it in as thoroughly as I let the angry idiots wash off me.
• Not far after that, I had the opportunity to return the favor. A small boy of maybe 10-12 years of age was riding on the sidewalk on my side of the road, heading towards me. At that age, I have no problem with riding on the sidewalk. He couldn’t keep up a decent speed, and might not be able to hold a line well either. I smiled real big, said “Hi!” and gave him a thumbs up as well. He just gazed at me in wide eyed wonder. I can only hope I helped keep him on that bike of his.