Happy Halloween!

Cycling is pretty damn fun after dark I’ve gotta say. I’m often a bit too lazy to get changed after work back into bike clothes so last week I found myself on my bike with a bosomy dress and black boots. I did chuck my safety vest on, but the whole ensemble wreaked of ‘look at me!’ which is pretty much the result I got, particularly when I went over bumps!

Last night I discovered that night shopping on the bike also has its upsides. Last night, donned in a less revealing ensemble, I was at my local supermarket checkout when the dude behind me said ‘Is that your Lancaster?’. It took me a second to realise he was talking about my bike, you know, because my bike’s name is Sheldon not Lancaster. What followed was a great conversation about electric bikes because he had one too. His was a yellow fold up one, quite compact but sturdy and much lighter than mine. He bought it online for $700.

I totally took the opportunity to ask him a million questions about how he finds hills, how he goes with battery power, how it rides when he runs out of power etc etc and it turns out he experiences the same things that I do – and still loves his bike too! So it’s nice to feel normal. And to know that Sheldon is pretty normal too.

While chatting, I had a brief panic about forgetting my occy strap and having a bag of groceries (including eggs) to somehow get home. Luckily I found a back pack, but he kindly hung around until I sorted it all.

Turns out he lives down the road from me – about 6 houses down – and has done so for about 4 months now. I have discovered over the years that some boyz have a thing about making sure you get home safely (without smashing eggs on the road?), so he couldn’t help but linger back and we rode home together. The funniest thing that happened was when we were riding down a really steep hill where my house resides and me saying ‘When you’re riding down here, just don’t run over my cat because she lives on the road’ and he exclaims ‘Is that your cat? That’s the coolest cat!’. My cat is such a tart that she meets my neighbours way before I do.

People driving alongside each other in cars don’t have those kinds of conversations. This morning I was overtaken by two cars and watched one of them tail-gating the other and thought ‘Thank god I don’t have to put up with THAT shit anymore’.

Oh – before I sign off … a question for fellow night riders: During the day, wearing sunnies keeps my eyes safe from dust and grit. But what does one wear at night time? Any suggestions?