Give Way Never

I saw something interesting on the way home from the grocery store a couple days ago. I had already seen something funny inside the grocery store, you see: There was a grown man- one who I assume was a father, for he was pushing a shopping cart with a kid in it- trying to make the same kid behave. That in itself is not at all out of the ordinary or interesting, but it got more so when I heard him say "Are you kidding me, bro?"

It was while I frantically typed that into my phone before I forgot it that I saw something more. I was walking along Magnolia Boulevard in North Hollywood, which is a difficult one to cross in spite of being of rather modest size. There was an old man on a bicycle who was either trying to cross Magnolia  or was trying merely to enter traffic and travel along it. Either way, he got into a rather interesting scrape.

Bike Ride Day

Like I said yesterday, there was a big bike ride recently. It was Sunday, actually. Somehow I have managed to miss the big rides where they close down the streets and hordes of riders take over. I have been busy, not had a bike or felt too beat-up to handle the miles. Maybe it's not a string of coincidences. Maybe I have never really wanted to do it. I have a way of avoiding things when they are too popular for my liking.

In any event, it was this ride where everyone was going from downtown all the way out to the beach. That amounts to twenty miles. I think I have this right. Some friends did it, and I got their pictures. I heard their stories too. I do feel a bit sorry that I didn't get to participate, but I did get to indirectly experience the thing. You don't just ride your bike. You transport it across some distance via the trains, and I have done that.

Epic Journey

I have been riding a bike for a while. Sometimes it's for leisure purposes, but it's very commonly just for the practical purpose of transportation. Trips of ten or fifteen minutes are common, sometimes stretching out to half an hour. That amounts to a few miles. My endurance is definitely growing, and I have been riding at length at higher and higher gears. These days, I am often at fourth gear, which feels the way second used to.

The other day, I had a pretty intensive day of riding. It was a busy day, and every place I had to go seemed to necessitate the bike instead of public transit or walking. First, I had to visit my agent's office. That seemed too close to mess around with buses, but actually it must have been something like eight or nine miles round trip. The way back was even lengthier, because I opted for the simpler route instead of the more complicated, shorter one.

Ride Away

My day yesterday was marked by disappointment in my leisure life. My favorite football team suffered its worst loss in team history, and as if that wasn't enough, they also contributed towards a likely defeat in my fantasy football league. This defeat would keep me out of our playoffs, and so you can see how I was an insufferable basket case. I badly needed something to distract me and lift my spirits. Luckily something came up.

Some friends had concocted a plan to see Christmas lights. What kind of person could remain in a foul mood in the face of that? Although it was against my nature to disengage from the poisonous atmosphere I had, I forced it on myself in the hopes that I would become someone who would be grateful that the angry me had done that. I remained upset at the outset of the experience, but that began to melt away.

I'm Being Careful

Something that I've neglected to mention for some time is the bicycle I bought a little while back. A good friend had two, and made me a reasonable offer for the second. It's been a real blessing in supplementing public transportation, which is spotty for certain times and places. Besides that, it's really an incredible feeling to zip through the night on a quiet street and feel the wind through your hair (taking all possible safety precautions, of course).

It sometimes accompanies me on the train, where it is a bit cumbersome, but welcome anyway. I have yet to try putting in in the rack at the front of a bus. So far, the most lengthy, involved trips have been out to the beach. I highly recommend riding along through the freakiest stretches of Venice Beach. There is a rather striking contrast between the beauty of the beach and the earthy disreputability of the area's denizens.

Tour De France

On Saturday, the first stage of the Tour De France was held- in Monaco. I always hate it when they leave France. Anyway... I never was especially into cycling, even as Lance Armstrong rose to dominate the biggest event in the sport. It's one of those sports that's tough to get into. Plenty of people like to ride, but don't really engage in domestic cycling events, putting cycling in the area of soccer here. It's too bad.