I KILLED A BIKE
I was driving the 2 a couple weeks ago. I was just starting my trip when I pulled up to Nicollet and boarded about 10 people. There was a guy trying to get the bike rack down the whole time they were boarding. He couldn't get it to fold down so I went out to help him.
I managed to get the rack down (FYI - sometimes you have to shake it back and forth as you grip the release bar) and the guy put his bike on. He put the tire holder over the tire to hold the bike in the rack. I commented to him that he did a good job as some people barely put it over the side of the tire and sometimes they fall down, especially if it is raining. He joked with me about how great it is to have a woman help him out. I told him something to the effect that guys couldn't live without us telling them what to do. We were both laughing as we got onto the bus.
As I pulled up to Chicago, suddenly the bike bounced out over the front of the rack. It happened so quickly that by the time I realized what had happened and had stopped the bus, the bike was halfway under the bike rack on the ground. I still can't figure out how that happened. Anyway, I called the control center as the guy went out and started to drag the bike out from under the rack. There was a loud "BANG" as one of the bike tires blew. Scared everybody! The guy got the bike out and started walking away. I honked the horn and motioned for him to come back over. I felt bad about what happened. I know I actually only folded down the rack, never touched the bike, but he was really a nice guy and I felt he didn't do anything to deserve his bike being messed up. Some people don't put them into the rack correctly. Then I feel it is their own fault. That wasn't the case here. The only reason I could see that it would have fallen was that the tires were VERY thin. Maybe that had something to do with it, I really don't know. I just wanted to get his info in the hopes this issue could be fairly resolved.
The guy walked back over to the bus door and said "Just call it a day" and kind of smiled and walked away. There was this crackhead looking chick out there on her bike. She started getting loud and saying "They need to pay you for that." Meanwhile, I told the control center the guy was leaving and I hadn't gotten any info. They told me to get the cards filled out by the passengers...basically, they are eyewitness reports of what the passengers saw. As usual, no one wanted to get involved. I had at least a couple dozen people on the bus...I got ONE to fill out the card. The chick outside kept fussing so I told her she was welcome to fill out a card...she did.
Haven't heard anything about this incident. Honestly, I just hope the guy gets his bike fixed. I hope to see him riding again!
I just feel bad. I killed an innocent bike!
I managed to get the rack down (FYI - sometimes you have to shake it back and forth as you grip the release bar) and the guy put his bike on. He put the tire holder over the tire to hold the bike in the rack. I commented to him that he did a good job as some people barely put it over the side of the tire and sometimes they fall down, especially if it is raining. He joked with me about how great it is to have a woman help him out. I told him something to the effect that guys couldn't live without us telling them what to do. We were both laughing as we got onto the bus.
As I pulled up to Chicago, suddenly the bike bounced out over the front of the rack. It happened so quickly that by the time I realized what had happened and had stopped the bus, the bike was halfway under the bike rack on the ground. I still can't figure out how that happened. Anyway, I called the control center as the guy went out and started to drag the bike out from under the rack. There was a loud "BANG" as one of the bike tires blew. Scared everybody! The guy got the bike out and started walking away. I honked the horn and motioned for him to come back over. I felt bad about what happened. I know I actually only folded down the rack, never touched the bike, but he was really a nice guy and I felt he didn't do anything to deserve his bike being messed up. Some people don't put them into the rack correctly. Then I feel it is their own fault. That wasn't the case here. The only reason I could see that it would have fallen was that the tires were VERY thin. Maybe that had something to do with it, I really don't know. I just wanted to get his info in the hopes this issue could be fairly resolved.
The guy walked back over to the bus door and said "Just call it a day" and kind of smiled and walked away. There was this crackhead looking chick out there on her bike. She started getting loud and saying "They need to pay you for that." Meanwhile, I told the control center the guy was leaving and I hadn't gotten any info. They told me to get the cards filled out by the passengers...basically, they are eyewitness reports of what the passengers saw. As usual, no one wanted to get involved. I had at least a couple dozen people on the bus...I got ONE to fill out the card. The chick outside kept fussing so I told her she was welcome to fill out a card...she did.
Haven't heard anything about this incident. Honestly, I just hope the guy gets his bike fixed. I hope to see him riding again!
I just feel bad. I killed an innocent bike!
posted by Jeanne Ree at 9:16 AM
6 Comments:
Say a hundred Hail Marys and you'll be forgiven. :)
Don't the ones I said during my 12 years of Catholic school count??
Well written article.
Law - Thanks...I try. Actually, in high school I had a teacher...Mr. Malcolm Mosing...my favorite teacher of all time, who once wrote on my paper "She doesn't follow all the rules, but sometimes hers are better." He was awesome. Thanks for your comment.
Not that I have much to say on the subject here (hey, I'm bored and can't sleep, so I dragged the netbook into my room and am enjoying the perks of wireless access), but sometimes accidents happen.
It's also a reason they should standardize bike tire widths. I've seen people with thin tires get stuck in the storm drains, yet me, I glide right over them. I've got standard mountain-bike tires on mine, so I've got width and grip.
Oh well, gotta go. Too tired to make any sense whatsoever.
Web - Yeah, I prefer the mountain bike tires myself. Now, if I'd get my lazy butt to get my bike out and actually RIDE it....!
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