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Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Fri, 21 Mar 2008One of the things that I'm surprised by is that I haven't really seen any other regular bicyclists on my route. It's a popular route, being largely flat from 80th to about 45th, a span of several miles. It has nicely marked bike lanes, and is very low traffic due to a high stoplight density that affects cars much more than bikes. Yet in the year and a half I've been commuting daily, I've only found one person who is consistently riding a bike other than myself. I think of her as the girl from the other side. She's always riding north as I'm riding south, in the morning. I've never seen her going the other way. She is perhaps most remarkable to me for the way she dresses: a medium grey parka coat with a fur-lined hood, tall black cavalry boots, and usually some kind of dark pants. Honestly, I never get a very good look at her, as we're passing on opposite sides of the street, and I only see her for a split-second with any proximity. The only reason I'm sure about the boots, even, is that I passed her as she was stopped in front of a coffee shop. She makes almost no nod to the fact that she's on a bicycle, which is what first recommended her to my attention. No helmet, no lights, dull, hard to see clothing. I would be surprised if her parka were particularly waterproof. This morning she was wearing a white knit cap, and I was able to make out brown bangs poking out underneath the cap. Her bike is some kind of cruiser, reminding me of the old Schwinn 3-speeds my grandparents would keep in the garage for my brother and I to ride when we came to visit. It has a basket on the front, a detail that I only noticed this morning. She never looks happy to be riding. She always faces straight ahead, never looking out of her path. I'm pretty sure she's not aware of me passing her every day. Not a good riding habit, unfortunately, and if I've interpreted correctly, she's bound for an accident sooner or later: although Greenwood is a fine bicycling road, it's also absolutely packed with parked-in intersections. I use my very loud horn a lot, just to make sure they see me. I realized today, as I was riding in, that the girl from the other side is the only regular rider I've seen. Of course, there are probably many more riders going south than going north, and they are probably going earlier than I am. I've now seen one other rider twice: a 20-something man on a folding bike. Twice isn't much of a percentage against 300-some days. I've lately met a few regulars going down Dayton (which is not as bike-friendly a road as Greenwood south of 85th, but is better than going up Greewood north of 85th, where it's steep and there's zero accomodation for bikes); they are older, probably past 60, but I've only seen them in the last few days. There will certainly be more bikers on the road as the weather warms up into summer. However, I remain impressed that the one reliable, regular cyclist I pass is the girl from the other side, pedalling along in her grey parka with the fur-lined hood. Posted at 23:03 permanent link category: /bicycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. |