Hello Boston!
Yesterday moring I was all set to get on the road before 11am. at least that was the plan.
Red and Silent Rob had been great for having me as a guest in their home for two weeks that, and I hope i'm speaking for the three of us here, just flew by. I loved being there but my feet were getting itchy again. It was time to climb back on the bike and head to Boston.
I was the last one in the house and was leaving through the garage door. As I watched the electric door slowly drop I started gearing up for my ride. Leather jacket...check. Gloves...check. iPod headphones in and then the helmet... Uh oh.
My helmet was sitting just on the other side of the garage door, so close but definitely out of reach. Rob was picking up Sharon from the airport and wouldn't be back at the house until at least 1-2 hours, if they even came back. I knocked on several neighbors' doors before I rode out to find a payphone and leave a message on Sharon's cell, even though I figured (correctly) that she'd have it switched off as usual. Resting in the assurance that I'd done all I could I went back to the house, sat by the pool with a book, and fell asleep waiting for the calvary to arrive.
I figured that if I left by 2pm I could still make it to Boston before the sun went down. If they arrived any later than that I'd have to make other plans for the night. Rob and Sharon pulled up at precisely 2pm to reunite me with my helmet. After one final goodbye I was off.
Connecticut was filled with traffic, almost from border to border, because they obviously haven't learned of the benefits of shoulders on the roadside. The first hour+ of stop-and-go traffic was thanks to a policeman giving a ticket to someone. Since there was little room to move over out of the roadway everyone else had to slow down and drive around them in, basically, one lane. Thanks Mr Public Servant. The second wave of madness came from a broken down car. Again, one lane only for the thousands of drivers who figured they'd get a jump on the Labor Day traffic one day before the rest of them.
Rhode Island was filled with chilly air that smelled, oddly, like cotton candy for the first 10 minutes. After that I smelled one of my favorite smells as I drove along through the hills - pine trees. I had little time to enjoy the state since it is, of course, the smallest of all states.
While I didn't make it to Boston before the sun went down I made it in easy enough. Since I have no running lights on my bike I have to squeeze the handbrake just hard enough to light up the brake light so people behind me can see me (thus, why I try to avoid riding at night). Once I made it into the city I realized that this weekend is definitely moving time for the students coming into the many universities the city houses. Moving day!
Last night I put up a quick ad on Boston's Craigslist advertising myself as an able body looking to help and have already received three possible job offers for the weekend. Tomorrow morning I'm assembling a wardrobe for a girl attending Harvard and i'm waiting to hear back from two people who contacted me looking for moving help today. Cross your fingers! I definitely need the money.
