Life without a car: part two
This has already been touched on else where, but here goes:
Day 13
Organic groceries are home delivered. For only $43 I get 2 boxes of fresh robust fruit and vegetables. They taste great, look good and 'zero effort was required to purchase them. I easily could have spent the same amount buying them at the shops. Apples taste fantastic. Resolve to keep doing this.
Day 14
Ask both my office mate and Dez to take me to the bike shop. They trick me into riding around the bike shop car park with a helmet looking dorky whilst I test run my new bike. Feel great urgency to buy bike and get going, promise to return for additional features (bike rack, bike lights, the free coffee from the espresso machine). Cycle home. Observe the trip is now taking me no more than 25 minutes and decide that I really should start cycling more.
Day 15
As a result of seeking close to home activities, go and try out for local tennis club which is less than 500 metres walk from home. Act faux modest when tennis coach says I am good at backhand. Pick up a tip about how to play volley at net and learn that my backhand grip is officially known as "Continental Grip". Can't understand why previous tennis coach (formerly known as "Tennis Tim"") taught me the grip, but not it's fancy name. Wonder if he really was on the international tennis circuit, then remember he played in the States and forgiven him for not learning anything universal there.
Cycle to the library. Pain is caused both by my bike seat: hate how getting into bike reading always leads to short term sore ass syndrome. Save $2.30 by reading the library edition of the SMH, am estatic to see the Shelton Lea biography on the shelves, pick up my reserved copy of Claire Messud's Emperor's Clothes. Librarian silent. Last reservation I picked up librarian noted I had borrowed The Most popular library book EVER (Scar Tissue-Anthony Kiedis. (note: Mr Kiedis has broken up with latest severely under age girlfriend and mother of child) (second note: the 2008 guide to the best 50 books ever includes SCAR TISSUE. Who would have thought his biography would capture the zeitgeist and yield such publishing gold?). Suspect the librarian has read SCAR TISSUE but not EMPEROR's CHILDREN and is, thus, withholding opinion. Resolve to get her attention by reserving Helen Garner's SPARE ROOM which has a gazillion reservations.
Cycle home mostly standing up on pedals. Notice that neighbour has been secrtely planting more plants in my garden; he knocks on the door Saturday afternoon to ask permission to water my front garden patch. Am on the telephone, mime a yes answer and then slump on the couch co-watching Olympic marathon runners whilst pretending not to notice the physical effort being rendered by Bruce metres away from my television. Out of guilt take a walk down to beach. Left foot sandal buckle pain really kicks on. Cyclist from opposite direction passes me as he approaches nasty hill and nods head. Cyclist on mountain bike. Feel smug that I have the right bike and he has the wrong bike. Spend two hours reading on beach and avoid getting wet because water far too cold. Perform a public service by zipping up polite American accented adonis into his wetsuit. Walk home.
Day 16
Cycle to shop to get newspaper. This is to avoid aggravating left foot sandal pain which I realise is worse than sore bottom bike pain. Notice that fancy new bike makes steep nasty hills much much easier: I can now click down my gears and finish the hill far easier than yesterdays cyclist managed.
Day 17: skip early bus. Try to catch late bus. Bus driver talks me out of his route. Give in and get taxi. Get lift home with Deb. Do an analysis of taxi cost, bus cost and (non) cost of bike and work out when I will break even.
Day 13
Organic groceries are home delivered. For only $43 I get 2 boxes of fresh robust fruit and vegetables. They taste great, look good and 'zero effort was required to purchase them. I easily could have spent the same amount buying them at the shops. Apples taste fantastic. Resolve to keep doing this.
Day 14
Ask both my office mate and Dez to take me to the bike shop. They trick me into riding around the bike shop car park with a helmet looking dorky whilst I test run my new bike. Feel great urgency to buy bike and get going, promise to return for additional features (bike rack, bike lights, the free coffee from the espresso machine). Cycle home. Observe the trip is now taking me no more than 25 minutes and decide that I really should start cycling more.
Day 15
As a result of seeking close to home activities, go and try out for local tennis club which is less than 500 metres walk from home. Act faux modest when tennis coach says I am good at backhand. Pick up a tip about how to play volley at net and learn that my backhand grip is officially known as "Continental Grip". Can't understand why previous tennis coach (formerly known as "Tennis Tim"") taught me the grip, but not it's fancy name. Wonder if he really was on the international tennis circuit, then remember he played in the States and forgiven him for not learning anything universal there.
Cycle to the library. Pain is caused both by my bike seat: hate how getting into bike reading always leads to short term sore ass syndrome. Save $2.30 by reading the library edition of the SMH, am estatic to see the Shelton Lea biography on the shelves, pick up my reserved copy of Claire Messud's Emperor's Clothes. Librarian silent. Last reservation I picked up librarian noted I had borrowed The Most popular library book EVER (Scar Tissue-Anthony Kiedis. (note: Mr Kiedis has broken up with latest severely under age girlfriend and mother of child) (second note: the 2008 guide to the best 50 books ever includes SCAR TISSUE. Who would have thought his biography would capture the zeitgeist and yield such publishing gold?). Suspect the librarian has read SCAR TISSUE but not EMPEROR's CHILDREN and is, thus, withholding opinion. Resolve to get her attention by reserving Helen Garner's SPARE ROOM which has a gazillion reservations.
Cycle home mostly standing up on pedals. Notice that neighbour has been secrtely planting more plants in my garden; he knocks on the door Saturday afternoon to ask permission to water my front garden patch. Am on the telephone, mime a yes answer and then slump on the couch co-watching Olympic marathon runners whilst pretending not to notice the physical effort being rendered by Bruce metres away from my television. Out of guilt take a walk down to beach. Left foot sandal buckle pain really kicks on. Cyclist from opposite direction passes me as he approaches nasty hill and nods head. Cyclist on mountain bike. Feel smug that I have the right bike and he has the wrong bike. Spend two hours reading on beach and avoid getting wet because water far too cold. Perform a public service by zipping up polite American accented adonis into his wetsuit. Walk home.
Day 16
Cycle to shop to get newspaper. This is to avoid aggravating left foot sandal pain which I realise is worse than sore bottom bike pain. Notice that fancy new bike makes steep nasty hills much much easier: I can now click down my gears and finish the hill far easier than yesterdays cyclist managed.
Day 17: skip early bus. Try to catch late bus. Bus driver talks me out of his route. Give in and get taxi. Get lift home with Deb. Do an analysis of taxi cost, bus cost and (non) cost of bike and work out when I will break even.
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