Halloween Bike Train

21 people dressed up as a cyclist today, including myself. None of the cyclists stood out, but someone at my office did. A recently married woman wore her wedding gown to work.

The weather was good this morning, so my hopes were high that I would find someone to join me on the Bike Train. I waited until two minutes after my scheduled time, but no one joined me at the start. Coming through Emory, I found a few headed in other directions. At Paideia, everyone seemed to be headed to the school. At the Candler Park Bridge, I arrived a minute early and waited until three minutes late. I only saw a man walking his dog. I raced up to the next stop hoping to sweep someone on the uphill. Empty. I hung around at the Carter Center and saw a few bikes headed in perpendicular directions.

The near misses were making me hungry to bag a riding partner. The hunt was getting serious. My eyes opened wider. My head swiveled.

I got to the next stop two minutes early and spotted someone crossing the bridge ahead of me, but was blocked by the traffic. There was a risk of losing my prey even though it appeared to be moving slowly. The light changed. The traffic parted and I rode through in hot pursuit. When I came over the bridge, my prey had vanished.

Since I was ahead of schedule chasing the ghost, I waited for a minute or two and then it occurred to me I should be waiting instead at a spot where more riders typically come by. I was off again.

Approaching North Ave, I spotted a rider ahead of me at the light on Ponce. I knew the pattern of this light and knew they would probably get away. If I hadn't delayed at the last spot, I probably would have caught them. It turned out they did get away.

I was still early though and decided to hang out on 5th street. I always see cyclists headed my way on 5th street. Well, I didn't see anyone by the time the light changed so I sat and waved the traffic around to wait for the next light. Still no one showed up on a bike, but I still had time so I waited for another light. Finally, looking behind me down the street, I saw a cyclist approaching, and then they mysteriously disappeared. Well, actually, they turned one block before reaching me. For a moment I considered chasing them, but if I had caught them, it would have ruined my story.

Sometimes you come back empty-handed, but I'll treat that as a reminder that sometimes, the journey is the destination.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 18.0
Number of Cyclists seen: 20
In-bound Route: Wednesday Bike Train
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Sunny and just the right temperature