Friday, September 10, 2010

Humbled On The Homebound Commute

As I mentioned in my last post, my new Borg cube is just over ten miles from home -- quite a shift from the "barely worth changing clothes" commute I've enjoyed for the last five years. It does, however, provide many more opportunities for interesting encounters with other cyclists.

Case in point: I was in the final stretch on Monday's trip home, a long, gradual downhill with a few stoplights in our shiny new bike lane on Ingersoll. Just as I started the descent, I caught and passed a guy in flip-flops sitting bolt upright on a super-shined-up drop-frame Raleigh 3-speed. The thing had been polished to within an inch of its life. He gave me a wave, and I figured that was the last we'd see of each other.

Then, I got caught at the next light, and he timed it just right to get past me again. A block later, I passed him again with a wave, and I figured (again) we wouldn't cross paths after that. Snobbery? Probably.

About a mile later, I'm setting up to take the traffic lane and make my left into home base when I hear a two-tone bell that sounds like a flippin' gong... and Mr. Classic Raleigh 3-Speed goes by my left shoulder like a shiny shot. I swear, if the next light hadn't stopped him, he would have broken the sound barrier.

Kudos to you, Mr. Classic Raleigh 3-Speed. Kudos.

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