Somebody finally got it!

    We've all had the experience of people commenting on our cycling.  The ones who talk about how you're saving money and getting exercise while saving the environment.  The others, like the teller at the bank who told me how sorry she was for me riding on a snowy day, and turn up looking totally shocked when I told her I could have driven if I wanted (the whole room went silent when said that!).  In the end, most people 30 or over in this country need an excuse to ride a bike, that is, to actually go somewhere.  It's Ok to be dressed like an acrobat and get together with friends to ride around like a herd of spandex hamsters for no reason, but to ride a bike for transportation is an act of desperation.  I once asked a high school classroom to give me reasons a person would choose to ride rather than drive a car.  I got the usual list involving money, oil, gas, the environment, DUI and exercise as justification for this strange behavior.
      Yesterday I stopped at my insurance agent's office to make a change in one of my policies.  When I walked in, the assistant sitting in the front office said:  "You sure looked like you were having fun when you came across the parking lot!"
One down, 313,900,000 to go!