Week 35 (July 20-24)

Summary:

Monday - Bicycle
Tuesday - Car (AM & PM Carpool)
Wednesday - Bicycle
Thursday - Bicycle & Bus (PM)
Friday - Bicycle

Thursday was interesting. As soon as I grabbed my bike off the rack for the return trip, I noticed a completely flat front tire. Not a good sign, but I thought there was a possibility that it was merely a slow leak that I could still ride home on. I peered through the mass of people waiting for their buses and saw a guy with a tall bike coming in my direction, and figured it was worth a shot

(Note to reader: do an image search on Google for "tall bike" to see what I'm talking about).

I think Matt was a bit surprised that I approached him asking for a favor. Here I was, a regular working stiff wearing a button-up shirt, ironed pants, and a bicycle helmet while he was clad in tattered leather boots up to his calves, tattoos all over his arms, and his long dreaded hair flowing freely.

Nevertheless, he pulled a pump out of his messenger bag, and when the slow leak theory was disproved, he produced a patch kit and wrench as well. He even did the work of patching the leak while I watched and made small talk.

With the wheel back on, I began the job of re-inflating the tire and got a little overzealous for a firmness and ended up popping the tube. Regardless, I thanked Matt profusely for his help and threw the bike on the bus to get home.

It might seem like it was all for naught, but I was actually glad to have run into Matt. I hope I see him again downtown and am somehow able to return the favor.