Saturday, July 12, 2008

YOU RODE YOUR BIKE TO WORK????????

Wish I had a nickel for every time I've heard that. Heard it so often that I have a ready-made smartass answer: [deadpan]"Well, yeah..... I've found that to be much easier than pushing it....[/deadpan]"

Why is that so inconceivable? It's only seven friggin' miles! We're not talking the Tour de France here! Thirty five to forty minutes. (Twenty eight-ish if I'm really kicking ass, like last Friday morning - gloat, gloat ). They think I'm some kind of god because I rode my bike seven miles down the Erie Canal Towpath???? (Think about what that says about them.... )

 I like telling them " I saw deer, and rabbits and herons this morning.... what did YOU see; the back bumper of the car in front of you?"  Or, "I actually enjoyed my commute this morning and am looking forward to riding home... How 'bout you"?

What makes it sadder is that many of the incredulous people live only a couple of miles from the hellhole where I work. For the record, it only takes me about fifteen minutes longer to ride than it does to DRIVE. For most of the people who live in the village, the "time savings" would be almost nil, yet they can't even conceive of riding a bike or - doG forbid - WALKING to work.....

In  a very similar vein,  when I ride either my motorcycle or bike and the weather is sketchy I must get told a hundred times a day "You're gonna' get WET!". Why is that so terrible? Because I don't have dry clothes and a shower at home? (Never mind that the fairing on the GoldWing diverts about 99% of the water around you....). When you were kids, getting wet and dirty was FUN! Why is it when we get older everything has to be easy, clean, dry and climate-controlled????  

That's just sad.