147. Just a Warning

On the way home last night a cop pulled along side me and told me to stop. It appears that he had been following me for several blocks (note to self: buy handlebar mirror) and proceeded to recount the handful of traffic violations that I had committed (a tactic I can only assume is covered early in Traffic Cop 101). 

"I'm not going to give you a citation," he reassured me, "this is just for your safety.  Not long ago a little old lady ran into a pothole, cracked her helmet and now she's a vegetable."  

Okaaaay, I'll be on the lookout for potholes, I thought, wondering if I were 30 or 40 years younger he'd be telling me a story about a hot chick falling into a pothole.

146. Cycling Camaraderie

Not wanting to be the center of attention or to delay anyone's commute, I was uncertain how I would react to a totally predictable event: first my folding bike on the rack, then a few stops later another bike, then at another stop a cyclist unhappy when he sees the approaching bus with a full rack.  What else can I do?  I tell first the driver and then the cyclist that I’m going to bring my bike on board.

I exit, take my bike off, fold it (~30 seconds), and re-enter, taking no more time than it takes the other cyclist to put his bike on the rack and board the bus. Quick and smooth, I suspect commuters at the back of the bus hardly noticed.

145. PDX Rules

If you've travelled in developing nations, you've seen motorcycles used for transport of just about everything, from families of 5 to furniture to farm animals headed for slaughter.

Now Portland has taken up not motorcycle but tricycle transport. Though not yet cost-competitive, the "B-Line" still attracts customers for reasons that transcend the bottom line.

 "It feels good psychologically knowing that our ... fresh bread is in that cargo box,” says the manager of Grand Central Bakery. “It killed us that all of our deliveries were in a van,” she adds. “We’re all avid bikers.”