Serendipity
Sometimes a chain of events leads well away from an intended pupose and other times that chain has a tendency to loop back around on itself.
Being in the midst of an unusually long stretch of nights at work, catching a few miles on the bike during the day has become the norm. Destinations are normally determined by many factors, some physical, some mental and at times even financial. I didn't need any money, felt like visiting my sister and her family and didn't mind the idea of bucking a headwind to get there.
About eight miles after zipping out of the driveway and heading down a main East/West Anaheim arterial, the (hideously colourful) Fuji delivered me into my sister's driveway. Her vehicle was not in the driveway and nobody answered the door. A quick dial-up on the cell phone only brought up the answering machine and a message was left. A friend who lives in the area was called, but they were not around either. What to do?
A physical factor presented itself in the form of hunger and subsequent mental factor decided that a financial factor allowed a sandwich place a few miles out of the way seemed to be a good choice in destinations. The headwind would be addressed first with a beeline South as far as was required and then cruise East with somewhat of a tailwind to enjoy. The Southern leg was no problem, with the exception of a comically irate motorist who didn't care to be informed that he had almost clipped with his side mirror. The turn East was rewarded with the anticipated tailwind and relatively light traffic.
Two-lane secondaries with a 30mph speed limit are a relatively safe bet in keeping away from maniacal lemming drivers who can't read a map. They are even better when a minivan with a driver who is not in too much of a hurry decides to drive right at the limit and allow a draft opportunity. This particular case seemed to know the timing of the lights on the secondary and it was turning out to be a very fortunate diversion from the original plan. That was until a small missing piece of the macadam presented itself to the rear wheel of the Fuji and caused a delayed pinch flat.
Since my sister and I live off of the same main arterial and OCTA buses run up and down it with great frequency during daylight hours, not carrying the basics to repair a flat tire is my normal modus operandi. Sometimes it seems easier to just rack the bike up on the front of the bus and pay the dollar than hassle with changing a flat in the heat of the day. Murphy seemed to have a different idea about all of that this time. No buses run on the secondary chosen, however there was a bicycle shop within two miles. It was nothing a brisk walk couldn't cure.
Keeping to the secondary on foot seemed like a good idea for some reason even though the resedential streets in the area sport alluring shade trees that provide ample cover. Detouring though the resedentials made it's siren's song, but was left unanswered. The next call heard was the sounding of a horn. A quick look over the shoulder saw my sister's vehicle hanging a u-turn and her yelling out the window to me. My nephew was with her and they had just left where he is taking swimming lessons about five miles away from their place. Even though the bike shop wasn't too far away by this point, not taking her up on the offer of a ride home would have been quite lame.
She said what clued her in to who the freak walking down the sidewalk with a bike was is the hideous coloring of the Fuji, which she thinks is cool. My sister the bike freak, recognizing the bike before her own damn brother! We had a chance to have the catch-up chat and complete my primary intention of the day's ride. She even got payback in the form of a few questions about the operation of her Bianchi road bike answered that she was planning on emailing to me that evenning.
Sometimes things work out that way.
Being in the midst of an unusually long stretch of nights at work, catching a few miles on the bike during the day has become the norm. Destinations are normally determined by many factors, some physical, some mental and at times even financial. I didn't need any money, felt like visiting my sister and her family and didn't mind the idea of bucking a headwind to get there.
About eight miles after zipping out of the driveway and heading down a main East/West Anaheim arterial, the (hideously colourful) Fuji delivered me into my sister's driveway. Her vehicle was not in the driveway and nobody answered the door. A quick dial-up on the cell phone only brought up the answering machine and a message was left. A friend who lives in the area was called, but they were not around either. What to do?
A physical factor presented itself in the form of hunger and subsequent mental factor decided that a financial factor allowed a sandwich place a few miles out of the way seemed to be a good choice in destinations. The headwind would be addressed first with a beeline South as far as was required and then cruise East with somewhat of a tailwind to enjoy. The Southern leg was no problem, with the exception of a comically irate motorist who didn't care to be informed that he had almost clipped with his side mirror. The turn East was rewarded with the anticipated tailwind and relatively light traffic.
Two-lane secondaries with a 30mph speed limit are a relatively safe bet in keeping away from maniacal lemming drivers who can't read a map. They are even better when a minivan with a driver who is not in too much of a hurry decides to drive right at the limit and allow a draft opportunity. This particular case seemed to know the timing of the lights on the secondary and it was turning out to be a very fortunate diversion from the original plan. That was until a small missing piece of the macadam presented itself to the rear wheel of the Fuji and caused a delayed pinch flat.
Since my sister and I live off of the same main arterial and OCTA buses run up and down it with great frequency during daylight hours, not carrying the basics to repair a flat tire is my normal modus operandi. Sometimes it seems easier to just rack the bike up on the front of the bus and pay the dollar than hassle with changing a flat in the heat of the day. Murphy seemed to have a different idea about all of that this time. No buses run on the secondary chosen, however there was a bicycle shop within two miles. It was nothing a brisk walk couldn't cure.
Keeping to the secondary on foot seemed like a good idea for some reason even though the resedential streets in the area sport alluring shade trees that provide ample cover. Detouring though the resedentials made it's siren's song, but was left unanswered. The next call heard was the sounding of a horn. A quick look over the shoulder saw my sister's vehicle hanging a u-turn and her yelling out the window to me. My nephew was with her and they had just left where he is taking swimming lessons about five miles away from their place. Even though the bike shop wasn't too far away by this point, not taking her up on the offer of a ride home would have been quite lame.
She said what clued her in to who the freak walking down the sidewalk with a bike was is the hideous coloring of the Fuji, which she thinks is cool. My sister the bike freak, recognizing the bike before her own damn brother! We had a chance to have the catch-up chat and complete my primary intention of the day's ride. She even got payback in the form of a few questions about the operation of her Bianchi road bike answered that she was planning on emailing to me that evenning.
Sometimes things work out that way.
posted by commutant at 02:37
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