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April 7, 2011
Back in the City
Back in the city.
It's really hard driving in the city. In the mountains, you learn to watch out for elk and deer. Coyotes and foxes.
But in the city, nothin's the same and everything's different. In the city, you learn to watch for pedestrians and cab drivers. They're the worst. Loose canons. They move erratically and unpredictably.
You watch for people opening car doors and emergency vehicles running lights. Every day, I try to find a better route in. Trying to balance speed and safety. Find a route that's quick, but safe.
You want to avoid Hyde and Powell, California and Market. Many of these streets have trolleys...not just the famous cable cars, but New Orleans-style trolleys powered by overhead lines. But the tracks are what kill you. Cross them wrong in the rain and you'll be sliding down the wet asphalt, pinned beneath your bike.
At night, I lie awake in bed, listening to the city's beating heart. Motorcycles racing through the broadway tunnel. Drunk people screaming and crying. Cursing and singing.
This is the city. This is what it does to you.
In the mountains, you don't really see the homeless, but in the city, they seem to be everywhere at once, rolling through the streets in wheelchairs, panhandling on crutches, and scouring the public trash bins for aluminum cans.
The last week I was in San Francisco, it rained every day. I was convinced I'd never see the sun again. I carried a cold with me like luggage through this city for 4 weeks, as it never warmed up enough for me to shake it.
Only Hawaii cured my cold. It went away as soon as we walked into the warm humid air of Honolulu. But now, back in the city, the weather is much better. Warmer and sunnier than before.
Everything seems to be exploding at once and, it's a little cold today, but the sunshine pulls the flowers from their winter homes and as I drive through the city, I'm so glad to be back.
All of these new flowers I've never seen before are just exploding all around me. I get lost on the way to my presentation but I don't care. I'm just lost in the heights above the city, near one of those countless parks that dot the city. The colors just burn my retinas. So much color splayed across the walls and gardens. I want to stop and shoot for hours but work is work and it's calling me away. I have only these precious few minutes when I drive the bike from the office to my weekly presentation.
The others all take the shuttle, but I take my bike cuz it's quicker, and that buys me these few precious minutes to cruise the parks. It's all there is. All we have is this day. These few precious moments to drink in what makes life worth living.
Posted by Rob Kiser on April 7, 2011 at 3:28 PM
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