My friend Joe killed a bird with his mountain bike. Accidentally, of course. Joe’s about 6-6, 300lbs, has the speed and agility of a tortoise and can leap like a rhinoceros. This bird decided “Today is a good day to die” and flew across the trail about a foot off the ground; a little less than “hub high.” Joe hit him and just smacked him down to the ground … like swatting a fly, but flies don’t crunch-squeek. Joe was really upset about it, very upset, more upset than a straight man should have been. It made the ride home very somber. Joe played The Cure all the way home. Made me wish he’d run ME over with his bike!!!
On my run this morning I saw something truly unique: An honestly attractive school bus driver
From the road, she seemed to be about 5’5", 100 lbs or so, brown hair, wearing a navy sleeveless top, trucker hat, aviators
Kinda like …
Even though it was already around 80*F at 8:30am, and I was a Sweatty Freddy, I tried my best to look on form as she drove up to the railroad crossing, where she was obligated by law to stop. I crossed, our eyes met, I waved and she gave me a thumbs up
If I see her again two Fridays from now , I’ll try to give a more detailed report
Bump. Reposting because this is the best story ever. Why doesn’t this sh*t ever happen to me??
Reminds me of a story. I was running on a track that is normally fairly quiet. I was hammering on the way home and came around a small bend. At that exact moment, a rather attractive lady standing just off the track, looked side to side once, and pulled her pants down to go to the toilet. She looked up in shock when she saw me barrelling towards her, so we both did the only thing we could do. Look straight ahead and pretend nothing happened… I put the hammer down a bit more to reduce her embarrassment.
Reminds me of a story. I was running on a track that is normally fairly quiet. I was hammering on the way home and came around a small bend. At that exact moment, a rather attractive lady standing just off the track, looked side to side once, and pulled her pants down to go to the toilet. She looked up in shock when she saw me barrelling towards her, so we both did the only thing we could do. Look straight ahead and pretend nothing happened… I put the hammer down a bit more to reduce her embarrassment.
About three years ago I was at a popular start point NW Atlanta. A female triathlete pulled down her cycling shorts, squatted down and went all while looking straight at me. In twenty years of my marriage I’ve never even seen my wife on the toilet. Even most of the guys, and no one is supposed to be peeing on this property anyway, tend to go behind the shrubs at the edge of the parking area.
I wasn’t sure how to react to this young woman other than just give her a smile and go about getting my bike ready as if I had seen her squat in the parking lot many times before.
By the way, I am not a triathlete so maybe this is more of a common practice than I understand. Although I still think one of the weirdest things I have seen on the bike was a guy had a full size floor pump across his back with like a rifle sling while cycling. Cycling in a metro area and it doesn’t take too long to see some weird things. So much so you cannot remember them all.
One of the places I mountain bike intersects with ATV trails. I’m huffing and puffing up a rocky climb with my head down. I look up and see an ATV in the trail, with 2 naked people on top going at it. I have no choice but to go right by them, fairly slow since it’s a technical climb and they didn’t even bother to get off the trail. They stopped while I rode by, looking at me.
You got the “Do you* mind?*” look, too, didn’t ya?
I’m sure I’ve gotten busted a time or two, by not pulling far enough away from “traffic” and into the woods onshore on canoe trips down here in the Pine Barrens
It’s funny how you normalize certain things after a while. After many years of watching pro-cycling, and riding with friends, we don’t bat an eyelid when someone has to relieve themselves.
When I was watching the tour this year, a relative of mine just happened to walk into the room when the riders were taking a ‘nature break’. She asked what they were doing, and seemed a little unsettled that she had just watched someone urinate on live TV!! In retrospect I think she had a point
It’s funny how you normalize certain things after a while. After many years of watching pro-cycling, and riding with friends, we don’t bat an eyelid when someone has to relieve themselves.
When I was watching the tour this year, a relative of mine just happened to walk into the room when the riders were taking a ‘nature break’. She asked what they were doing, and seemed a little unsettled that she had just watched someone urinate on live TV!! In retrospect I think she had a point
It’s not like Race Radio calls up to the TV chopper and says: “Hey! They’re gonna pee by those trees! Turn the cameras over to that chateau or something!”
On the other hand maybe that IS why they’re showing the chateaus?
Of course, in Philly we’re used to it for a whole other reason
I did the Tour of Utah ultimate challenge last year. It’s f’n hard, but at the end of the day it’s just a t-shirt ride. Peloton is full of men and women.
Over the course of the ride, a handful of guys just whip it out while we’re rolling down the road like they’re in a pro peloton or something, with women all around. It’s a tshirt ride for goodness sakes!
I was on a long ride a while back and came across a backback air blower that a landscaper must have lost out of the back of a truck. I stopped, strapped it on, and rode home. About 30 miles. The hose was flapping all over because it wouldn’t stay secure. Now we have a backpack air blower with a little bit of a ding. I tell you, though. It isn’t easy to ride aero with a backpack blower.
Then, I was out running this last spring and there a circa 1928 mechanical 10-key machine on the curb for free (somebody wrote free on the tape). I walked home with it about 2.5 miles. It weighs 41 pounds. As a CPA, I had a duty to rescue the 10-key.
…now that I think of it, I may have shared this already a few pages back… oh well. Not much exciting happens 'round me.
Guy waiting for the NJ Transit bus from AC, waving an American flag and singing “God Bless America”
I expected to see more ghouls, pirates and princesses at the school bus stops today, but then it occurred to me that a) the early busses are High School and Middle School kids and b) their schools have uniforms, so probably no costumes are allowed
I ran past the cemetery as I often do but saw no unusual activity; maybe tomorrow, when the spirits have to return to their graves before Dawn, after been out all Halloween night?
Several months ago I was out for a Sunday morning run along a rural road. I glanced down and saw a $20 bill on the side of the road. Sweet, I thought, and picked it up. I proceeded to find 4 more! $100 cash just laying in a ditch on the side of a back road. I was PSYCHED!
At Kona 2014 I picked up a 50 at mile 6 of the run. The photographer was right there so one of my race photos included me flashing my newfound wealth.
Since it is Halloween, this is a great time for me to reply to this thread! This isn’t something I’ve seen, but around this time of year I help others experience the season while out running by dressing up as a gorilla and scaring a 5:30 am running group I’m part of! Funniest thing was one time finding a blog from a cyclist who talked about seeing a gorilla in the woods during one of her rides, it was me…
A few years back I was on a switchback looking out over East Canyon (Salt Lake City) and noticed a Red Tailed Hawk. He was riding the ridge lift and almost exactly at the same height as the road so I was looking slightly down on him. As I was looking, he banked such that the sun reflected off the tops of his wings making him completely aglow. Stunning! What I would give for a pic of that!
