A wise and powerful Jedi once said, "Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment." We rolled up to this intersection yesterday, and got in line behind a couple cars at the red light. An older man with long gray hair, a black trench coat, and a guitar case slung over his shoulder walked up and took a position on the sidewalk right next to us. At first glance he looked homeless, but upon further examination, he was well groomed and clean. All the while though, he was muttering nonsensically, almost rhythmically like he was rapping. I couldn't make out a word he was saying, but I was getting a creepy vibe from the dude. My instincts said it was time to roll!
I was half watching the cars in front of me, and half watching Weirdo McRappypants on the sidewalk. The cars took off, and I just followed their lead. What I didn't notice is they were making a right turn on a red light! I was inches away of riding into the intersection, but Ryan called out to me and stopped me in the nick of time.
I'm not sure what would've happened if I had continued on, but it kind of creeped me out the rest of the day.
"Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment." Meditate on this I will...
13 comments:
"Be mindful of the future, but not at the expense of the moment."
sage advice! :)
it wasn't bob dylan along side the street, was it?
No. Not nearly as scary as the present day Dylan...
You need to move to the big city to get over your fear of people.
I had some crazy guy offer me six marbles for my Niterider tail light at a red light in Berkeley last night. Dumb-ass, it's totally worth like nine marbles.
Low ballin' crazy folk!
Shoot, do you think I'm a xenophobe? I must go consult webmd.com for self diagnosis...
Lucky you had someone watching your back.
That's the trouble with you young Jedis. "Mind is never on what you are doing!" At least that is what my pal Yoda says.
Were these cars bigger than 4 cylinders? If not, you could have taken them.
I think the only thing I can add to this is THIS.
Enjoy your day...
-M
That's hysterical!
I got to thinking about Weirdo McRappypants. What if he was really the angel of death, and he was chanting some spell that drove me out into traffic? I'll see if he has a business card next time I see him.
Considering the storys posted over at "making it happen in salem oregon" blog site, your friend saved your life. And I am damn glad to hear he did.
Road cycling is always a balance between joy and terror.
Mac Rappy Pants is the future of Rock n' Roll. Just you wait and see! :^)
Star Wars and pants, good stuff! Hard as hell to laugh quietly, though.
May the Schwartz be with you.
oldman - Yeah. In all seriousness, I've seen a lot of stories of cyclists killed around the country in just the past few weeks. It's very disturbing! It seems that some of them could have been prevented by being being more aware of their surroundings.
I took a motorcycle safety course once and they focused on the SIPDE process...
Scan
Identify
Predict
Decide
Execute
Failing to Identify and Predict is what killed some of those cyclists. Never assume a cement mixer or garbage truck (or any car for that matter...) is going to see you and give you the right of way!
it's the execute part that always kills you.
Glad Ryan tuned into what was happening. Mr. McRappypants may have included you as the subject of his next hit song, about how his powerful lyrical rampage wreaked havoc on an innocent cyclist.
" Ize standin on tha corna think 'bout curse words
Homey in his stretch pants com-a lookin at me, didn't realize the connection- fool got laid out by a dump truck right in the inta-section- Yo!
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