Oh, holidaze, let me count the ways in which I hate thee.
On my way home from posting last time, I stopped at Fry's for some groceries I still need this last week or so here at the apartment. As usual, I locked up CrazyBike2 at the end (outside the rack) of the bike rack, out of the way of the other bikes, etc., but with teh cable passed thru the largest diameter pipe of the rack. There were a couple other bikes on the rack, one of which was just laying on the ground close to the end of the rack rather than with it's wheel in the rack, but with it's wheel locked to the rack. Odd to me, but not unusual for others, to just dump a bike in front of the rack blocking spaces that could be used by other bikes. The other was locked into the rack at it's far end. I haven't ever counted the spaces, but I guess you could put 6 or 8 bikes in the rack, if none of them have baskets adn you don't mine handlebars interlocking between them. Maybe 3 or 4 if want to leave enough space so they don't touch each other, or if thehy have baskets.
Anyway, when I came out, there were two women fighting hard to get their bikes out of the rack, griping and complaining about my bike "being in the way" when it wasn't anywhere near theirs, and the only thing actually blocking them from getting their bikes out was the unused shopping cart right behind them, which they could have easily moved somewhere and been able to roll their bikes straight back out of the rack isntead of having to wiggle them around to get them out. Neither of the bikes was there when I locked mine up, so any problem they had getting them out was entirely of their own creation. Still, I offered to them that if they'd wait just a moment, I would unlock my bike and move it "out of their way", and they basically ignored that and kept doing things the hardest way possible, instead of waiting (which wouldn't have helped much, since CB2 wasn't actually in their way) or moving the shopping cart (which was really the only thing that would have helped).
So they eventually worked their bieks out and rode off grumpily, when (as with most people I see) the problems they had were of their own making.
Further on my way home from there, just north of Indian School at 23rd Ave, I was in the bike lane southbound when someone was playing at stumbling around in the street/lane/sidewalk, with a couple of others. Probably early 20s, I'd guess, or very late teens. At first I thought me might be drunk but after the car in front of me passed him as he almsot fell in front of it, causing them to swerve almost into oncoming traffic, he straightened right up and laughed with his buddies on the sidewalk. Then he saw me coming in the bike lane and started doing it again. I didn't swerve or slow down, but continued at the ~18MPH I was at at the time, just stared straight at him as he stumbled around, and he straightened up back onto the sidewalk then at the very very last second leaned over right in my face and yelled. I didn't react to it, expecting something stupid like that, and he almost got his face whacked by my helmet before he pulled back. I didn't try to look back and see what he thought, and just continued on, since I didn't hit him and if he hurt himself in the process of his stupidity, it's his own problem. Assholes like that apparently abound in the world, and they get other people hurt or killed. If I'd been dumb enough to swerve away from him, I'd've ended up under the wheels of the cars passing me on the left. As would any other bicyclist, and some probably have, as he's probably done that to others before.
Mostly uneventful except for the usual stupidity of thieves at my workplace stealing stuff from our store or others, and returning it to us trying to get cash back (which we can't do--we give merchandise cards instead, good for basically store credit, online or in-store, but not redeemable any other way--not even thru the coinstar machines or whatever they are that can give you liek 80% of a gift card's value as cash; these cant' be read by them or anything else, just at our stores). We get a few a day, usually. Some of them are already on a blacklist, so we won't do a return for them, as they have already been caught at theft (but police can't help cuz they wont' stay long enough fro the police to get there). Some of them leave with their ill-gotten goods when they can't get cash back, and then later send someone else back in with the exact same set of items, to try again. Usually it's some random person they found at a bus stop or whatever, who has been promised some portion of the cash if they'll do it for them.
And except for the stupidity of people driving around doing last minute holiday shopping. So many wrecks, several each day just in the area I work at, and more just on the way home or within easy sight of it, just because people are too impatient to wait that few seconds or less, or to slow down just that teeny bit. Just on my ride to work today, there were at least five wrecks in various stages of cleanup or emergency crews trying to pry people out of the vehicles and get them into ambulances. One with little plastic covers over bits of something in the road, probably parts of a person, I'd guess. Lots of police cars for that one, whole street blocked off. I lost count of how many crash scenes with flashing lights around them I saw on teh way home from work, several hours later, or how many times I heard sirens pass by the shopping complex while working.
For myself, almost nothing bad has happened, beyond the seat frame problem noted last time. But on the way to work today, I had my first actual flat tire in what seems like ages. It was on teh rear, and was a sidewall puncutre of something. There was nothing actually left in the tire or tube, but it must have been really tiny, maybe a syringe needle or similar, cuz I couldn't find a hole in the tire sidewall, just a little scratch that if I stretch it just right shows what might be a puncture. The tube hole was easy to find, when I tried re-airing it up after stopping, calling work to tell them I'd be late, then pulling the rear wheel off to figure out the problem and patch it. Patching was easy with the kit I carry, then I was back on teh road about 45 minutes after the flat (meaning I was half hour late to work instead of 15 minutes early).
I guess I myself was nearly hit by impatient idiots not paying any attention at all (and/or not caring) a few dozen times between my trip to and from work today, but since i watch out for everyone else, since I assume they aren't watching for me despite all my lights, bright orange raincoat, yellow firefighter pants, huge amounts of reflective areas all over the bike, etc., I avoided any collisions easy enough. Closest one was just as I was about to reach home, where there's two lanes of Thomas itself eastbound (where I was), a center dual-left-turn lane, and two lanes west bound (whcih I have to cross left turn from that dual-direction lane to get into the complex).
I was going just under 20MPH, signalling a left turn, having already crossed the empty eastbound lanes and just entering the dual-direction-turn lane, with various overly impatient cars coming up behind me in the two lanes I'd *already* exited, at much more than the speed limit there, when one of the cars (one of those box things liek Psion or Scion or whatever) with is RIGHT signal going tried to go LEFT around me as I was already mostly into that other lane, and at the last second he swerved back rightward into his proper lane (probably because there was an oncoming car in the westbound lane he was about to enter to go around me for no reason). I had to brake quickly at that point because I had been continuing at cruising speed instead of slowing, because he would have hit me for sure if I had braked as I normally do at that point. I slowed quickly and waited for the oncoming westbound car to pass, then turned into the complex, where I've safely been since, including a couple of walkies with Tiny.
As a side note, I put a thermometer on the bike to see what temperatures are like during a ride. At night, between 940-1045/11pm when I am on my way home, it's getting down to about 45-50F not coutning windchill, wich probably takes at least another 10-15 degrees F off that. Daytime it's around 60F-65F, midday on the way to work. Same thermometer left sticking out a gap in the window reaches belwo 40F, but not quite down to freezing, just before dawn.
Passing by the house each day I see no one working there the last severla days, maybe almost a week now? Still havent' managed to stop in during daytime to peek around the inside yet. Outside is still the same--not quite finished. No new info from the landlord on time, so still assuming mid-January to move back in.
Tiny is doing fine so far, though she still leaks in her sleep or at other random times. The meds for helping that haven't arrived yet, probalby not till after Christmas or maybe New Year's, as they are custom-mixed just for her, apparently, then have to be delivered to the rescue group, who then brings them to us. We'll be at Bill's by then, I'm sure.
In the gift exchange at work, the present was to both me and Tiny--she got a box of milk-bone-like treats that she likes a lot, and I got a box of chocolate-covered cherries (which aren't my favorite but theyre' still sweets, which I don't buy for myself very often, and so are appreciated anyway), and a little gift card for the dollar store near work, which is useful for all sorts of little household items I get a lot (liek soap, detergent, etc). I didn't see her open it, but according to someone else the dog trainer liked my "human trainer" harness thing a lot--we'll see exactly how mcuh she likes it if she actually uses it for a dog at work.
Tomorrow is a welcome day off, and I dont' know if I wil lgo anywhere or not, other than to lunch with Bill. Often the roads are deserted on Christmas Day, so a long ride might be fun, exploring the area. However, I won't *be* in this area long enough for that to matter, now, and am unlikely to be back down this way for anything anytime in the forseeable future. And I coudl really use the rest of just doing nothing, but problaby will not do much resting but isntead use teh time to finish packing up for the move. Not a lot left *to* pack, but making sure I have it all done in advance would be good. Then a final cleanup of the whole apartment to be sure it's ready when I leave in the next few days, probably this weekend.
I've been typing this all up at the apartmetn with Tiny at my feet asleep; now it's time to go out into the cold and post it.
