I’ve been commuting strictly by bus for the past several days. Why? Because after I changed the rear tube last week, apparently I didn’t tighten the bolts correctly or something (or, possibly it’s not my fault at all) and the wheel slipped out of alignment mid-commute, stranding me at NE 113th and Glisan. It’s wonderful place to be stranded. The bus line on that part of Glisan (#25) is one of those really useful lines that only runs once per hour in each direction. Really, Tri-Met, on Glisan? I understand it at least a little on my dinky neighborhood street, but on Glisan? Anyway, I ended up walking my bike (despite the fact that the tire was rubbing against the frame the whole time) to a friend’s house on NE 110th and getting a ride.
I still haven’t fixed the bike. I’ve gotten tired of fixing the darn thing, but I’ve also simply had better or more important things to do. Fixing the bike hasn’t been a priority.
So I’ve been back on the bus. This means we leave about 20-25 minutes earlier than we were previously, and walk to the daycare provider’s house, and then I get on the #15 on NE 102nd (sorry, Tweeps, I get off at Burnside, so we’ll probably never run into each other).
It works quite well. I’m getting to work on time and I am much less sweaty on arrival. The odd thing I’ve noticed is that I rarely see the same people twice on the bus. I think on Friday and Monday I saw the same two people at my bus stop, but otherwise, it’s been different people every day, both at the bus stop and on the bus.
I’ve been pondering a few possible reasons:
- People in this area are not regular bus commuters. They only do it when they have to.
- People in this area are not Monday-Friday workers. Or they work different times each day.
- People take different routes depending on the circumstances (there are at least two different lines running on this section of NE 102nd).
- People are like me and sometimes (or usually) ride their bikes. I have been seeing more and more bike commuters in this area.
But even if I am the only Monday-Friday gal on the bus, it’s working for me, and I’m happy, although I’d like to get back to the bike (this one or a new one) at some point.














