Tales of the Good

[dasgeh]

Last night, after bouncing down the hill from the TR Bridge to TR Island, I look down I realize my handlebar bag flap is open. I check inside and get a sinking feeling — my phone is gone. Ugh. I think back to when I’d last check the flap, and can’t remember doing it since I left work. Double ugh. So I turn around, and head back, trying to look along the route for the phone. I’m hopeful that it fell out as I was coming out of the garage at work. I get all the way back only to find that, no, there’s no phone in the garage, no phone turned into the security guards, no phone along the route. Boo.

I try to call the phone – nothing. Maybe it fell in the river? It is still ringing, so that’s no likely. Anyway, I turn around and head out again, still checking the road for evidence of the phone. Nothing. I get to Rosslyn, now pooped and frustrated and SUPER late to get home for the kids, so I hop on the bus. On the bus, I pull out my work blackberry, call my number again and – Hooray, someone picks up. A very kind runner found the phone on the hill to the TR Bridge (about 10 feet from where I discovered the open flap – DOH!). He was even kind enough to drive by my house and drop it off on his way home.

So there are exceptionally nice people in the world. Even nice runners.

Oh, and my phone has this little pen that always falls out when my phone drops. It’s not a big deal — it’s really only used when my toddler wants to draw. But it wasn’t with the returned phone. So on the way to work this morning, I stopped at the hill, walked the sides, and – Lo and Behold! There’s the pen. So now the whole phone is sitting happily on my desk. And I’m reevaluating how I secure things in my handlebar bag going forward…

Topic

[lordofthemark]

To the dad who was riding with his little girl on training wheels, in the I Street bike lane this AM. That was absolutely adorable.

[jrenaut]

We just got my oldest daughter a bike with pedals for her 5th birthday. She’s struggling a bit with riding it, despite a lot of practice on a balance bike, but she’ll get the hang of it.

Just now, as we’re getting ready for bed, she looked at the bike.

“My bike has a chain. I’ll probably have to clean it soon.”

So proud.

[baiskeli]

This kinda fits the thread.

I often ride down North Adams Street between Lee Highway and Wilson on my way home. Every Friday, I know the guy at 1725 N. Adams will have his window open blasting classic rock. It’s obviously his start-of-the-weekend ritual, and I look forward to it. Lately I’ve been stopping and listening for a while.

Rock on, 1725-N.-Adams-St. guy.

[jrenaut]

Despite not being permitted to ride to work (well, I can ride there, I just can’t go into the building), I rode to pick up our CSA share for the week. They’re usually at the DOT farmers market, but no DOT means no farmers market. So next time someone tells you the shutdown is just hurting overpaid and lazy federal workers, you can point to a small family-owned farm in PA that is losing out on a lot of revenue because the government shut down their retail shop.

Anyway, that’s not the tale of the good. On my way home, I first politely persuaded a gentleman not to make an illegal turn on PA Ave near 4th. Then, on 15th at I, after dodging completely oblivious pedestrians in front of the VA building, I yelled “You have a red light” at the gentleman trying to turn left on a red left turn arrow. That’s good because he actually looked up at the light, which is quite contrary to the usual response in that situation where the driver cusses at me and continues through the light.

[ShawnoftheDread]

Sitting at the light at L & 24th this morning, a commuter in front of me was talking to a man in a suit on a CaBi about his ride (West End to Union Station, I gathered), when a lady in a car next to us called out her window, “But have you lost any weight. Because that might influence me to try it.” I piped up with “You’ll lose A LOT of weight!”

[mattdwyerva]

Many years ago, I managed to crash on the curvy descent right near June Curry’s house in Afton. If you knew her, then you already know she patched me up (really, it is just road rash, no ambulance, June), and fed me and my buddy some cookies. You could not do better than the Cookie Lady.

Off topic, I always like to zip hbar bags towards the back so things fall towards me when I ride ….not that it’s ever happened… :thumb:

[DCLiz]

Me: Just starting my CaBi ride west on M St downtown during the evening rush, with my keys loosely secured in my purse in the bike basket.

You: The jogger who saw my keys fall to the street and turned around to retrieve them while I was pulling over and stopping.

I said, “Thank you SO much!” She said, “No problem! It’s a lot easier for me than you.”

Thanks, jogging lady!

Note to self: Zipper the pocket with your keys, dummy.

[Author]

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