Adventures in Bicycling

Somehow we managed to be a one car family in SoCal, yet such an accomplishment here seems like an unreachable goal. Here's a story why:

Yesterday I wanted to go to an REI used gear sale. Lindz had the car in Wisconsin for the weekend so I set out for the two-mile ride north. As I got to the bottom of the last hill I noticed that an on-ramp to a freeway was on my right. Thinking nothing of it I kept going straight. Cars began speeding by on my right and merging onto my road. Without realizing it I was on the highway!!!

There was no way to turn back or get off the road. I had to keep going until i found an exit. I peddled as fast as my adrenaline would take me...until I hit a pothole and my rear tire exploded. So there I was riding a one-wheeled bike along a highway, cars screaming past, each person staring at me with a look of bewilderment as they drove by.

This is pretty much how it felt

By the time I took the exit ramp I had to hop off my bike and walk it the rest of the way. I was 1/2 mile north of the store but there was no parallel road to take me back, so I had to walk my bike east for a mile, down the 1/2 mile, and back west for a mile.

I eventually fixed the flat at REI and rode my bike back the rest of the way. Once home I cracked open a Grain Belt Premium, turned on the TV and listened to the news anchor tell me how lucky a day 7-7-07 was.