Tales of Slow Brave Athena

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December 4, 2006

Another ride

It was 34 degrees outside when I left the house this morning, or at least, that's what the thermometer said. I bundled up and biked in.

It was another pleasant ride. One of the things that I enjoy about the morning rides (and sometimes evenings too) is seeing all of my regulars. You probably have them on the way into work as well: the folks you see almost every day.

I usually see my across-the-street neighbor when I leave the house; he's a caterer, and is usually heading to his kitchen to start his day, too. Though this morning his house was shut up tight, with no lights on inside. Oh, I wish I was still in bed.

I passed the guys I see every morning, meth heads probably, but nice enough. They always greet me, ask how I'm doing.

I see the construction guys loading up their truck.

I see the moms and their kids, waiting for the bus.

I passed the packaging factory, where someone usually is sitting outside the big garage door, smoking a cigarette and reading a paperback. But the garage door is closed; I guess it's too cold to read outside.

I look for the usual crew of homeless folks who hang out outside an abandoned house generally, but they too must have sought warmer climes. But the guy who works the freeway offramp with his Homeless Vet sign is out. We wish each other to stay warm.

I see some of the regular waterfront homeless folks, but to a huge extent, the regulars aren't there. It must have been a popular night at the shelters.

I thought about a lot of things as I rode: thankful that I have a house and a bed and heat, curious why some cyclists are in such a hurry, wondering how the homeless get by in this sort of weather, and why we as a society let them rot outside. I don't want to get political about it, but why do we let people suffer?

I thought about a story I had read about calorie-restricted diets, and then I thought that perhaps it would be better to start with something less extreme. Like say, veganism.

'Think about when you've been on a long hike,' Schneider says. 'When you get to the top, or wherever you're hiking, and you're really hungry and sit down for a snack. How does the food taste? It tastes better—everything tastes better. That's how it is for me every time I sit down for a meal.'

And I thought about how delicious heat would feel.

I rode into the parking garage and the wall of heat hit me like bathwater. I had never noticed the parking garage was heated. I mentioned it to one of the attendents who said, yes, isn't it nice? Yes.

Later, when I was dressed like an office lady, I went to get some coffee, and damn, it was cold. It was so cold! I hadn't been nearly that cold when riding.
...
My weekend was spent doing homework. It's almost over. Almost.

I had to run over to Hollywood, about 3 miles away, and when it was too late, I realized it could be a bicycle trip. Could have, if I had thought of it earlier. I want to get in the habit of converting these solo scooter trips to bicycle, but I have to actually prepare for it. Bicycling really doesn't take that much longer... but it does mean I can't leave at the very last minute. I can't make up time on the road.

(crossposted on vj.vox.com)

Posted at December 4, 2006

Comments

Posted by: Deborah Wakefield at December 4, 2006 3:23 PM