Woosh! Said the wind as I opened the door to leave the dentist's office and could see the sprinkles starting to freefall from the sky, sporatically like popcorn. So, I jumped onto my creaky bike, opened the gate, and went for it. What choice did I have?
All around me, the earth was going wild like a drunken frat boy, wind pushing and flailing.
I grasped my handlebars uncertain and glimpsed up at the swirling clouds in the grey sky. No sign of lightning. Pedal to the metal.
I glided along, feeling the rain on my head, drops sliding down my cheeks, a welcomed cooler shower in a day of muggy heat.
I kept on going, intentionally weighing myself down, paranoid of the flippant tires and bouncy, often breakable frame, I said a silent prayer.
It was at this point that water started appearing all over my body, no longer a trickle, now, there was pelting rain, spray coming up from the pavement on my feet, and a wind that whipped the rain in at least 10 different directions.
With the wind, came a stop, and I pulled over to shelter in the steep doorway of an abandoned car dealership. 2 minutes later a man came running around the corner. He saw me, gave me empathetic eyes, then ran to his car and drove away. I thought to myself 'Really? Could someone see that I am helpless here? In my green teacher dress, with my blue teacher bag, and my bouncy white bike? Was I that threatening for someone to stop and offer a ride?
As the wind eased up, I took an opportunity to run through the puddles, splashing along from one doorway to another. Soon, I arrived at a Remis or Taxi stand, "Tienes coches que cabe mi bicing?" Do you have any cars that my bike will fit in? "No hay coches." Gut punch. "Y si hay, no cabe tu bicing." Slap in the face. Was that really necessary?
Defeated I walked on until I saw some fellow cyclists looking like wet dogs, riding a long, with a smirk on their faces, saying "We get it. Just go!"
It was then that I embarked on the last 15 minutes of my journey, laughing occasionally at the ridiculousness of it all, smiling at the fact that I for the first time all day, felt refreshed. With the last 5 minutes getting progressively darker as I approached my home, I channeled Thomas the Tank "I think I can" to get me that last 2 km and arrived on my steps, pumped for a warm shower and dry clothes.
All around me, the earth was going wild like a drunken frat boy, wind pushing and flailing.
I grasped my handlebars uncertain and glimpsed up at the swirling clouds in the grey sky. No sign of lightning. Pedal to the metal.
I glided along, feeling the rain on my head, drops sliding down my cheeks, a welcomed cooler shower in a day of muggy heat.
I kept on going, intentionally weighing myself down, paranoid of the flippant tires and bouncy, often breakable frame, I said a silent prayer.
It was at this point that water started appearing all over my body, no longer a trickle, now, there was pelting rain, spray coming up from the pavement on my feet, and a wind that whipped the rain in at least 10 different directions.
With the wind, came a stop, and I pulled over to shelter in the steep doorway of an abandoned car dealership. 2 minutes later a man came running around the corner. He saw me, gave me empathetic eyes, then ran to his car and drove away. I thought to myself 'Really? Could someone see that I am helpless here? In my green teacher dress, with my blue teacher bag, and my bouncy white bike? Was I that threatening for someone to stop and offer a ride?
As the wind eased up, I took an opportunity to run through the puddles, splashing along from one doorway to another. Soon, I arrived at a Remis or Taxi stand, "Tienes coches que cabe mi bicing?" Do you have any cars that my bike will fit in? "No hay coches." Gut punch. "Y si hay, no cabe tu bicing." Slap in the face. Was that really necessary?
Defeated I walked on until I saw some fellow cyclists looking like wet dogs, riding a long, with a smirk on their faces, saying "We get it. Just go!"
It was then that I embarked on the last 15 minutes of my journey, laughing occasionally at the ridiculousness of it all, smiling at the fact that I for the first time all day, felt refreshed. With the last 5 minutes getting progressively darker as I approached my home, I channeled Thomas the Tank "I think I can" to get me that last 2 km and arrived on my steps, pumped for a warm shower and dry clothes.
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