A BusMan Rescue
I was rescued by a bus today. One of the reasons I have not been writing as much in this blog is because I have been riding my bicycle a lot since I got it in June. Pretty much any trip within a 10 mile radius, and where I do not have to wear a suit provides an opportunity to ride my bike. I make good time. I travel 7 to 9 miles per hour - which is faster than I go sometimes in my car, particularly on short neighborhood trips. Also, the speed is dependable since I am not subject to traffic; I can know in advance pretty much exactly how long it will take me to arrive at my destination when I ride my bike.
Today I rode my bike to play softball in Mar Vista. After the game I was riding to an errand in Hollywood when I got a flat tire. I was on Santa Monica Blvd., just west of Beverly Glen, on the new, fantastic bike lane they just put in between Sepulveda Blvd. and Century City. But you can't go very far or very fast with a flat tire, even in a bike lane.
I walked my bike to the bus stop just west of Beverly Glen and when I saw the bus approaching I waved him down. However, the stop where I was stranded was not only not a stop for this driver's bus - he was driving an express route - it was blocked off with construction cones. Nevertheless, the driver saw that I was in distress and stopped so I could load my bicycle and board the bus. That was super nice of him.
(In addition, an elderly gentleman boarded the bus at Santa Monica and Wilshire. He asked the driver what number line the bus was, and explained that he could not see it on the bus because he was legally blind. He asked if the bus stopped at Doheney, and, though that is not a regular stop for this express line, the driver made sure the man was able to exit at Doheney. This was a good bus driver.)
I rode the bus on Santa Monica to La Brea, got off, transferred to the La Brea bus northbound, which took me to Hollywood and Highland, right across the street from my bike shop. That's about 7 miles of bus ride, far too much to walk with a flat tire. My bike shop, Hollywood Pro Bicycles, fixed my tire and got me on my way.
Saved by the bus. An exciting day.
Today I rode my bike to play softball in Mar Vista. After the game I was riding to an errand in Hollywood when I got a flat tire. I was on Santa Monica Blvd., just west of Beverly Glen, on the new, fantastic bike lane they just put in between Sepulveda Blvd. and Century City. But you can't go very far or very fast with a flat tire, even in a bike lane.
I walked my bike to the bus stop just west of Beverly Glen and when I saw the bus approaching I waved him down. However, the stop where I was stranded was not only not a stop for this driver's bus - he was driving an express route - it was blocked off with construction cones. Nevertheless, the driver saw that I was in distress and stopped so I could load my bicycle and board the bus. That was super nice of him.
(In addition, an elderly gentleman boarded the bus at Santa Monica and Wilshire. He asked the driver what number line the bus was, and explained that he could not see it on the bus because he was legally blind. He asked if the bus stopped at Doheney, and, though that is not a regular stop for this express line, the driver made sure the man was able to exit at Doheney. This was a good bus driver.)
I rode the bus on Santa Monica to La Brea, got off, transferred to the La Brea bus northbound, which took me to Hollywood and Highland, right across the street from my bike shop. That's about 7 miles of bus ride, far too much to walk with a flat tire. My bike shop, Hollywood Pro Bicycles, fixed my tire and got me on my way.
Saved by the bus. An exciting day.
posted by Glen Janken at 4:52 PM
3 Comments:
Why don't you start a Bike Man Blog... I would love to hear about your bike adventures.
Why don't you start a Bike Man Blog... to share your adventures on your bike.
What a nice bus driver! I am glad to know that you didn’t have to wait or didn’t need to walk for hours. Here is my experience. I took a bus everyday when I was a high school student. It took about 10 minutes to get to the bus stop if I walked comfortably, but I could bet there in 5-6 minutes if I ran.
As you know, I am not a morning person. My history of not-being a morning person is long… If I left my home for the but stop 10 minutes before the departure time of the bus I usually took in the morning, I was lucky. I usually ran to the stop. Sometimes, the bus just passing me by…while I was doing my best 50m dash. Japanese buses are very punctual. Drivers are not willing to stop just for a high school student who is running desperately to a bus station (if a driver decides to do so, he/she needs to stop every 5 meters). Every time I saw my bus passing me by, I promised myself , “I wake up 5 minutes earlier tomorrow.” But, oh, well! As you can guess, I usually ran to the train station – another 50m dash. . I must have been in a good shape back then.
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