Thursday, November 5, 2009

long walk

My commute home is usually about 18 minutes, (+/- 3 depending on the speed and direction of the wind, and how sore my legs are).

Today I left school at 4:30 and arrived home at 6:15.

Sometime between arriving at 7:30 and leaving nine hours later my front tire went flat.  I called my housemates, but everyone with a car didn't answer, and as I tried to call Jon, my phone died.  So I'm stuck in inner city Detroit, without a phone, and without transportation other than my own feet.  I also have with me my most valuable earthly possession (the bike).

The school I work at is just north of Michigan Ave, which is one of the major roads in Detroit.  I knew from past experience that regular city buses don't have bike racks, but that "Smart" buses do, and I was pretty sure that a smart bus would have the route on Michigan.  I walked south, and to my delight a bus passed me (going toward the suburbs) with a bike on the front.  I crossed the street and arrived at the next bus stop just as a bus pulled up.  I walked to the front and started to pull down the bike rack, when the driver yelled at me.
"Hey, I can't pick you up."
"What?"
"We can't take bikes until after six o'clock. That's the Detroit city rule."
"Sir, I have a flat tire, can you please let me on the bus?"

The doors closed, and he drove away.

I walked home.

I stopped at a church that I passed cause I saw someone inside it, thinking church-folk might be willing to give me a ride.  But no one answered the bell.

This was my route:


View Larger Map


Google says it takes 1:32 minutes to walk that far.  Which is probably what it would have taken me if I hadn't stopped.

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