A New Way Home...

Hello, friends! 

I have a funny story to tell you, and by funny I mean "shake your head" funny and not "laugh out loud" funny. 

We're in the middle of New Student Outreach right now, which means long days and even longer nights.  Today I was on campus until about 9:30, which meant biking home in the dark.  (It also meant lots of hours saving money on meters, but that's for a little later). 

The route that I take home is pretty much the same route every time.  I bike up Hitt Street, turn right on University, make a left on college, then a right on Walnut, cut through Stephens College (thanks, ladies!) make a right on Widsor, a left on Ripley, a right on Hinkson, a left on William, a right on Amelia, a left on Mount Vernon, and BAM!  I'm home.  (In case that wasn't confusing enough, here's the map). 

Overall, it's a bunch of side streets and a pretty safe ride.  The one stretch that is the most dangerous is going north on College avenue.  It's a pretty busy street with lots of cars traveling at pretty decent speeds.  Bikers, and some pedestrians have gotten hit along that road for as long as I can remember. 

As I was biking up the street tonight, thinking thoughts and such, I heard the unmistakable sound of something falling out of my bag.  I had my gym bag strapped to the back of my bike and I must have left it a little bit open because something definitely hit the street. 

Friends, it was decision time.  What do I do?  I sounded like plastic so it was probably one of two things.  Either it was my almost empty shampoo bottle, in which case I could leave it without a second thought, save for a guilty conscience for littering, or it was my pair of swim goggles, which cost me $15 and would require another trip to the store to buy a new pair.  I couldn't risk losing the goggles so I had to pull over and run back to pick up what I dropped.

It was the shampoo bottle...

Slightly relieved that the goggles weren't broken and slightly miffed that I had to stop for a bottle of shampoo, I hopped back on Sulu and rode the rest of the way.  There, my wonderful wife had just arrived home and was unloading the car. 

Funny thing... she was on college the same time I was, so she saw me pull over and run back for my lost shampoo bottle.  Needless to say, she was less that pleased. 

As my way of showing my love for her and taking her concern into consideration, I will be taking a different, safer but longer, route back home after the sun goes down.  I haven't figured out what that route is yet but I suppose it makes sense.  Sulu getting crushed by a car seems like the sort of thing that would make this blog a little bit useless.  =0). 

Stats:
Distance: 10.8 miles ($1.00)
Meters: 12 hours on campus ($12) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)

Total: $14.20
Grand Total: $374.62
Left to Save: $208.41

Happy Biking! 

~Adam