[I started writing this months ago but forgot about it. This post sat in that Digital Purgatory known as Draft waiting patiently for whenever. Now seems to be that day.]
My Friday had become completely discombobulated. I was deeply tired following a week of restless sleep and too little even of that. Riding home from work I just wanted to get home, sit down, open a beer, and find a movie to watch. Oh well . . .
As I headed into the turn onto 3rd Street I thought I heard my name coming from the external speaker on the Police Mobile HQ parked behind the Old State Capitol. Seems the City wanted to make people feel "safe" while the Miss America event was going on at the River Center. Since I know a few of the cops in town I went around the block and went back to see who was there and if they had blasted me earlier.
I'm glad I did, even if I was wanting to get home (as above). Not only was Craig, one of my favorite cops, on board but so was the head of the EMS. The EMS guy and I have seen each other at various events. He "jokingly" asked me where my helmet was once and, because I didn't recognize him, I told him what I thought about helmets and how drivers need them more than bicyclists. Fortunately, he had a sense of humor (even if I didn't).
We three talked about Craig's recent bicycle tour and his upcoming Hotter Than Hell 100 ride. Now THAT'S a ride!
It's one of my favorite things about bikes, no matter what the rider does for a living we can always talk bikes and enjoy each others company in the Bike World.
After a half hour or so I took my leave and headed home happy but a little annoyed by the unexpected change in plans. Little did I know . . .
When I got home I started up the laptop, went through the usual routine, opened my browser, and tried to log on to one of my email accounts. No connection.
Looking up to check the light on the Wi-Fi I could see that was red rather than blue. A quick glance at the modem showed me the lights were doing the Freak Out Dance rather than the steady-state green glow of normalcy.
Great. Twenty minutes later, having been reassured countless times that my "call is valuable to us," I finally got to speak to a human (well, maybe it was a human ). You know the routine so I'll spare you the verbal sparring and detailed descriptions of the problem. We ended with the hope that the problem would resolve itself and, if not, I needed to be home between 8 - 10 AM, Monday. Great.
Okay . . . shifting gears . . .
My phone rang. A friend wanted to know if I'd be home later so he could come by and retrieve his bike. He'd loaned it to me so I could see what a 56cm Surly Long Haul Trucker was like. Too small is what it was like. Nice, but too small.
Why had he lent me his bike? Because I'm planning a tour of my own and had talked with him about my desire to get a LHT of my own. He was kind enough to let me ride his so I could see if the Trucker was what I thought it would be.
Fast forward a few hours and my friend is here, the Internet is back, and I have a request for a Warmshowers stay from three guys riding the Mississippi River Trail . . . for tomorrow. <sigh> Well why not? I had been planning to finally clean out the spare bedroom but couldn't with someone staying in the room.
It's not as if EVERYTHING is an opportunity to learn a little more about myself but . . . I wanted to just go home and chill but it didn't happen and I was annoyed, foolishly. Reading this now, I can see how fortunate I am to have friends all over the place and ample opportunities to meet new people, some of whom will be new friends. It's good to be alive and well and, by some, loved.
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