Word

Which reminds me...

My parents once bought me a bike that cost $7 from the local Goodwill. They drove it over to where I lived in Columbus so that I could use it to get to and from classes.

The bike was actually in pretty good condition for $7. The only thing that was amiss was that it was old - the rubber on the brakes, for instance, had hardened the way an old pencil eraser does. It will still erase, but you really have to chew at it to get a good grip.

I was riding my bike to class one day, and I entered campus. This was great, because although no vehicle traffic was allowed, the students pretty much stuck to the sidewalks still, and I could have free use of the street. I would plan ahead and scan the crowd to see if there was any interesting movement that signified a crossing pedestrian, and I was pretty good at it.

There was a little dip in the road right before a big hill, and I usually took that as fast as I could to pick up speed for the hill. I was heading down this dip and had found a spot in the crossing foot traffic to pass through, when a fellow suddenly decided he needed to be going the other way. I hit my hard eraser brakes with all my might, but it was too little too late. I ran right into the guy, and not only that, my front tire went right between his legs, hitting, what I presume, was a rather sensitive area.

We both stopped and I began to apologise profusely. I asked him if he was all right and he said he was, but I can't help thinking that he was only trying to save face in front of everyone. I felt awful.

Needless to say, I check my bike brakes every so often. It's not happened again, but my record with bikes isn't the greatest. I need to keep it careful.