Safety Fork, the

I’ve never been particularly fit, since no activities I really care to pursue involve exercise, and I have no patience to exercise for exercise’s sake. But I live a mere mile and a half from work, and I go to work on a majority of days, I decided that bicycling would be a good idea.

Two weeks ago I bought a bicycle. I went to The Hub Bike Co-Op in Minneapolis. According to their site, all the employees are co-owners or working toward becoming co-owners and receive the resulting equitable share of profits. I figured that they must be communists, and who knows bicycles better than communists? Also, they have a great location—right next to the U of M—for taking test-rides. (The bicycle I bought is a Giant OCR3, if that means anything—I know nothing about bicycles. I tried three and picked the one I liked.)

Most of my route to work is along reasonably major, two-lane roads with 40- to 50-mph traffic. Unfortunately, Eden Prairie has very arterial city planning, so there are no other viable routes. For a week and a half, it wasn’t a problem, because running parallel is a virtually untravelled sidewalk that becomes a recreational path about half-way between my apartment and my employer.

Two days ago I got run over a little bit by a car.

On Tuesday, about a third of the way to work, I spotted a car coming out of a private driveway. I slowed, it slowed. I made eye contact with the driver and began to cross the driveway—and realized that he wasn’t going to stop behind the crosswalk. His bumper caught my front wheel and I jumped onto the hood of his car to avoid a longer trip to the pavement on my right.

The driver was very sorry, and promised to pay for repairs. I’m as glad I wasn’t hurt as he was, since I don’t think he was insured. I had to buy a new front wheel. Miraculously enough, the rest of the bicycle was undamaged, aside from a scuff on the front fork.

When I picked my bicycle up from the shop yesterday, I bought a helmet. I told the clerk that if I’m going to get run over every two weeks, sooner or later I’m going to hit my head on something. I also decided that if drivers aren’t going to see me when I stay for the most part out of their way, I’m going to ride right in the middle of their way.

Two drivers today honked at me for riding my bicycle in the street.

I went to Faribault on a whim tonight to watch a hopeless francophile perform improv comedy. I have to say, the man knows how to make an entrance:

His recent trip to France did not overly contaminate the show, but there did seem to be an certain fixation on baguettes. (As an aside, does anyone have a copy of the breadstick video?)

I was entertained.

This morning, I fetched the following by bicycle:

• Cornstarch
• Three packages of fresh blueberries
• Two large bags of Peanut M&M’s Chocolate Candies
• Eight rolls of toilet paper

I am quite certain that in a few weeks I will have excellent thighs, because that is the part of me I cannot feel right now.

I’ve assembled tonight’s selection for those hapless readers who are currently in France (and also, but to a lesser extent, for those who have been to France, would like to go to France, or are otherwise hobbled by Francophilia).

This is my dad’s cousin John teaching the extended Xavier family assembled in 2004 to sing in the round about French cathedrals.

It’s a nice night, so I sat on my balcony for a while, and left the door open when I came back inside. I like to let in some fresh air from time to time. Also, I’m pretty sure, a mosquito.

Of course this also lets in the neighbors’ conversations. I don’t mind much—I’m very good at tuning out background sounds—except for arguments. For some reason, I can’t not hear arguments, and arguments make me tense. The loudest to date was a shouting match about how cool the lightning is and how much you should/how much I don’t want to sit out here and watch it. Tonight, it was a speaking-voices, ten-minute-long argument about when and where a car should be repaired. Except, agreement was reached almost immediately. Why keep fighting? I like a good (intellectual) argument, but it ends when agreement is reached.

But it didn’t stop me from later taking pictures of the moon. Someday, I should get a telescope.