Adventures in riding the bus
I meant to set out at 7:10, to catch a 7:23 bus half a mile away. I grabbed my stuff (couldn’t find a water bottle) and walked out the door, immediately realizing that I needed money if I was going to ride the bus. I went back in, begged three dollars from my husband, found 75 cents so that I would have exact change, and left again.
By this time, it was nearly 7:15. I did my best, but I just didn’t make it, by about a block and a half.
So, here I sit at the bus stop, waiting for the next one. The first bus would have gotten me there about 25 minutes early. The next one will only give me three minutes to spare. Hopefully I can cross the street and get in the door by eight!
Tonight I’ll buy a bus pass for the month, so at least next time I won’t have to worry about the cash. I almost said “screw it, I’m driving,” because I knew I was likely to miss that first bus, but I said I was going to commute by bus this summer, and I’m sticking to it.
Maybe I’ll try adding my bike sometime, too. I’m just afraid of the bike rack on the front of the bus. I don’t want to look like an idiot trying to get my bike in or out.
This post has 7 comments
July 8th, 2008
Welcome to the world of commuting Kathleen!
July 8th, 2008
You are a better person than I. Driving is easier, thus I drive.
July 8th, 2008
You’re a braver woman than I am. Gas prices or not, I’m driving as long as I can.
July 9th, 2008
Okay I lost this comment the first time. I hit the wrong key and I was navigated to the previous page I had viewed.
Here we go. I’m glad you kept your commitment to yourself about the commuting by bus. It’s so important that we keep the commitments to ourselves, not just the ones to others.
I’ve decided to try the bus in August. I don’t have anywhere specific to go but I figure it’s a good way to get around and to see what there is to see without the pressures of having to drive and park!
July 10th, 2008
Nancy and Ina, it ain’t so bad. Depends on your neighborhood, too, though.
July 10th, 2008
I confess that I, too, am afraid of the bus bike racks. I haven’t used one yet, though I have taken my bike on our light rail down here, even though it’s sort of big and heavy for that. But supposedly they’re really easy. Nicole has done it. I just hate the idea of holding up the bus and having everybody watching (and maybe yelling) while I try to work that thing.
I take it your workplace is too far away to ride your bike the whole way?
Once you have the bus pass, I bet it’ll be easier to forget about driving–because you’ll already have spent the money for the pass. When I lived in San Luis Obispo I couldn’t get a bus pass, because you had to buy them in person during business hours, the buses only ran once an hour, and there was no way I could get to the bus office and back to work on my lunch hour. “I don’t think we can help you. No one else has ever had this problem before.” Riiiight.
July 10th, 2008
Wendy, I am too out of shape, and I think my bike probably sucks, too. I can’t ride it very far without getting tired.
Trackbacks