Bikes, Saturdays, & Ironies

I enjoyed a few bike rides this past Saturday and couldn't help but notice some things that just seemed interesting - maybe even ironic.  Hmmm... where should I start.

My daughter really likes riding on "the tandem," as she calls it.  She is four years old and has a difficult time keeping up on her bicycle.  So we found one of those follow-behind-tag-along-thing-a-majig tandems for her to ride.  She has a seat, handle bars, and pedals, so she loves riding with Dad.

One of her friends invited her to a birthday party this past Saturday.  They live about five miles away (pretty close to a bike trail :) so it seemed like taking the tandem would be a perfect idea.  There was some drizzle coming down from a cloudy sky, but she insisted we ride instead of take the car.  She really knows how to make her dad happy.

We had a damp, but fun ride to the party.  I helped her get her helmet off, handed her the present for the party, and followed her up to the house.  Several other children were arriving with their parents as well.  None of them took their bikes, of course.  Who would do such a thing on a misty morning?  I couldn't help but feel sort of weird for having taken the bike.  I realize that it wasn't me who thought I was weird.  It was my paranoia of others thinking I was strange for taking the bicycle.  I shrugged it off, got on my bike and pedaled home. 

About half way home, as I rode past a Walmart gas station (what will the super Walmarts/Targets sell next?) and saw my first irony of the day - one of the moms, who dropped of a child at the party, was filling her car up with gas.  It just made me smile.  I had been feeling strange for riding my bike, but she was the one filling up her car with gas at $4.39/gallon.  I'll take that trade any day.

Later that day I got to ride on a longer errand with my son - about 14 miles.  He needed to meet some other kids from church to prepare for a dinner later that evening.  Since we ride a lot together he remarked at how we know exactly where to be in relationship with each other while we ride.  I thought that was kind of cool.

On the way back home I noticed how it takes a few miles before I feel like I am settled into a good pace.  My legs get into a good rhythm, my lungs take in the fresh air, (and sometimes my nose starts to run a little).  As I enjoyed the exercise I saw the second irony of the day.  A sports car with an exagerated exhaust system and flashy rims was sporting a personalized license plate - EXXRCISE.

What?  Seriously?  How can you make a claim like that on the license plate of a car?  Maybe it would work on a t-shirt, a bicycle, or maybe you could put a message like, "I'd rather be exercising" on a license plate frame.

I don't know, maybe I'm biased.  Ok, scratch that.  I know that I am biased, but do you see what I mean?

Cheers ;)

Part II: Donuts at Midnight?

I am happy to report that I was able to investigate the "Donut Shop Mystery" last night.  Here is how it went down:  I rode past the donut joint at 6:41pm (on the way to a meeting) and noticed that there were eight customers - four inside, four outside.  Not very common for a donut shop, but it was still relatively early in the evening.  I wondered how many people would be there when I rode past after the meeting.

The meeting went long and I wasn't able to leave until 10:30pm.  By the time I would go past the donut shop it would be 11:00pm!  The place would probably be closed and I wouldn't have an opportunity to see anyone there or find out what makes it a popular evening hang out.

As I approached the scene of the crime I was amazed to see that it was still open!  At 11:00pm, mind you.  And there were six people still there - one inside, five outside!  As I pull up I see a security guy in a golf cart riding around the shopping area.  I'm thinking he'll probably tell the guys it's time to leave so the place can close.  Nope.  He waves and continues on his way.

I try to blend in with the crowd and buy a donut, right?  I walk in to look over the donuts (that are probably nearly a day old).  A friendly older Asian woman asks me what I would like.

"How late are you open?" I ask.  Trying to hide my amazement.  "Are you open 24 hours?"

"No," she says, "We close at 2:30am."

2:30am?!?  I'm thinking, "Why bother closing at 2:30 if you have to open up again a couple hours later?"

"Will these guys still be here?" I ask.

She nods, "Maybe they're lonely." 

"Can I have one of the apple fritters?"

It reminds me of the theme song from Cheers.  "Everybody wants to go where everybody knows your name."  These guys just need a place to be.  A place to hang out.  They don't bother anyone and noone bothers them.  I don't understand why they picked this donut shop.  It doesn't look like they keep the place in business.  None of them had so much as coffee in front of them when I was there.  They were just smoking and talking about motorcycles.  (And staring at the idiot who bought an apple fritter at 11pm!)