antidotes

1. I got a flat tire no more than three blocks from work during my morning commute on Wednesday. Cursing the cobblestoned pavement that lines the streets of SOMA, I pulled my bike up onto the curb next to a bus stop to change my tire. I had an audience of three bus commuters who watched me intently while they waited for their MUNI-provided transportation to arrive. Nothing like a little performance anxiety to make a routine procedure nerve racking. As I struggled to get my fancy fangled Crank Bros pump to inflate my new tube, I finally gave up and resorted to CO2, which, while costly at $2 a pop, is an order-of-magnitude easier and less likely to result in working up a sweat while in my po-fessional office wear. As I finished disconnecting the CO2 cartridge from my tire, satisfied with the inflated pressure, I reconnected the wheel with the bike and looked up to see an old Chinese lady staring at me. I smiled and dusted off my hands as she pointed at me and stated, “You, you are vewy smhart.” The other two audience members smiled at her exclamation. I guess you would call that somewhat of a standing ovation.

2. It’s raining today and I have been required to come to terms that the nature of my cycling commute has changed for the next several months. For some reason I was under the impression that I could ride to work from the train station in the drizzle and keep my backside dry. I was unfortunately mistaken and will have to reconsider my riding wear to keep my po-fessional git-ups dry.







Or just buy a fender that fits my CX bike.