This morning was a true test of bike vs car. Why drive when driving bans were already being issued? Risking a ticket or getting the car stuck didn't seem like a good idea and it simply sounded like work. I needed to buy food for the cafe in prep for being open Saturday w/o a pastry delivery coming tomorrow.
A quick stop at Wilson's was easy and I got some essentials there. One guy stopped me in the store and asked if I was really on bike (wearing a helmet in the store for lack of a better place to put it gave me away). Yep. I'm on bike. This guy was incredulous. Really? Yes, really. They make bikes & tires for the snow? Yes, they do. My thought bubble read: And there won't be a ban on my bike later today like there will be on your car. He acknowledged that he should look into getting winter tires for his bike after validating that I'm not insane. I hope I proved that, anyway. Bikes=freedom. I really felt that today.
I dropped off the gallon of special beverage and pile of food from Wilson's at the Cafe. I stayed to do some work and then was off again to the bank and local grocery store for the rest of the stuff. The bank shut down at noon, prior to the snow even beginning to stick on the ground. When I got there at 12:05, I made (read: begged) them to open up to let me in, I couldn't survive the weekend w/o the transaction I wanted to make. Maybe I could have, but there was no need for them to close at that early hour. They are always closed when I need them to be open. I didn't feel bad asking them to stick around for one more customer. At least they were very nice.
Two panniers completely full yielded what can be full breakfast for 40+ people. Bike did the job of car, at least today. (I'm not advocating getting rid of one's only car, it's just good to not need it.)
All of Lexington was nearly shutdown by 1:30. The morning was packed with customers getting their pre-storm caffeine and stocking up on retail bags of coffee. People thinned out a bunch around 12:30 or so and then we had a few show up mid-afternoon. The parking & then driving ban kicked in. People who'd driven ran out in fear of a $500 ticket. Then people started coming in, their transportation being riding or walking.
I got to jump on bar when our last remaining barista decided the snow was just right for riding home on his bike. He couldn't wait to ride and he had a long one ahead of him. A few more customers rounded out the day and we were the last business standing in the Center. We closed at our regularly scheduled time. To me, it means a lot that we could be the last one open. It meant a lot to the customers who came in during those last few hours, too.
The winds were picking up but there wasn't too much snow to deal with on the road or falling from the sky. I was looking forward to riding home after dark on the snow. The road was super slick and the studded tires didn't help in keeping me up. Momentum works great and though the bike was slipping all over, it stayed upright. Once upon a time, this would have freaked me out. Now I am not afraid of it, but find it somehow thrilling. Besides, a crash wouldn't hurt, it would be soft. I'm listening to the wind howl outside now and wonder what awaits in the morning. Can't wait to get back out there, but this time, I believe it'll need to be with snowshoes.
No comments:
Post a Comment