Lindsey Heim

An encounter of the third kind...


So, today I woke up with a sore throat, sniffles, cough, and aches. I couldn't believe it. I have been sick more times this winter than I have in the past three years. This is the most frustrating thing ever. I have been good with my diet, sleep, and hand washing in attempt to figure this out, and thought I had it figured out until today. I have even turned to zinc, airborne, and other remedies. I cant figure this out. I keep getting sick. argh.

Being a recovery week, I had a 3 hr easy ride planned for today that I was really excited for to actually ride outside. I made an executive decision to turn that into riding around town while running errands. I hate changing the plans, but I figured I would ride a little less, and kill two birds with one stone so I can just get to bed sooner tonight to sleep off whatever I have. Took some Alka Seltzer cold, got all bundled up, and headed out the door on my mountain bike to tackle the ice and sloppy streets for a few hours.

Plan was post office, Blockbuster, grocer, Kohls to get new hosiery for school, Target (to unfortunately buy bleach, laundry soap, and fabric softener- it was a lot to lug home).

So, I headed to the post office to drop a letter in the box, and rode the short distance down Saddle Creek Road to Blockbuster to return a movie. I was being a perfect little human powered vehicle- I wasn't trying to pull any crap in traffic. At Blockbuster, I dropped the movie in the slot, and turned around to see a grubby woman approaching me. She just got out her car, and wreaked of cigarette smoke. The conversation went approximately as follows:

Her: Do you realize how rude it is to ride in the street when there is a sidewalk right there? (not even realizing there was ice all over the sidewalk behind her.)

Me: Do you realize that I have the same legal right as you do to be in the street?

Her: Well, It is really rude to hold up traffic.

Me: Listen, I am out here trying to run some errands just like you. Apparently my presence caused you some inconvenience.

Her: Well, you should try to keep up with traffic.

Me: Well, I have the right to be there. [ I ride away]


Now, as with all cyclists who have ridden on the road, I have gotten my fair share of obscenities yelled at me, crap thrown at me, and attempts to kill me with a vehicle, but I have not yet gotten the direct face to face encounter off the bike. I was actually pretty proud that I was able to remain civil- albeit it would have been nice to throw out some wittier replies.

Eye opening nonetheless. I find comfort in the fact that she has chosen to inevitably smoke herself to a premature, slow, painful death, where she will no longer be inconvenienced for several seconds while driving.