As always, the fates have it out for unsuspecting bears.
After almost three months, I finally decided to get back on the wagon…the wagon being my dear bicycle Julie, of course. Three months: that’s nearly 12 weeks that I haven’t ridden Julie to work. Of course, I had very good reasons. Summer days in Shanghai usually make me feel like I’m some soft, gelatinous pupa stuck in a cocoon made of spandex with no air-holes. For those of you who’ve never been baby insects, I’m trying to convey the sense that it’s DAMN HOT. The prospect of peeling myself off the seat on the shuttle bus didn’t appeal to me, so Julie sat neglected in her usual spot next to the dining room table.
Of course, on the day I finally wheel her out, excited as a puppy about to hump and old woman’s leg, what happens? The heavens open up and fling big, fat raindrops on my part of Shanghai. And of course, with my wretched history of always carrying an umbrella when it doesn’t rain and never having one when it does, I soon found myself drenched to the dual core. I’m talking shirt, pants, socks, shoes, panties…everything ended up completely wringable. It got to a point where I could not get any wetter as I pedaled furiously down Yan’an road. In fact, after I parked my bike, I slowly sauntered toward the building, while everyone around me was scrambling to dodge the rain. I felt like I was in one of those movies where there’s a big explosion and everyone starts screaming and running away, except for the bad-ass hero who keeps walking straight without ever looking back (see “Desperado” and “Syriana”). Anyway, that was me today. Of course, I didn’t look nearly as cool as those movie heroes, since I was totally sopping wet and carrying a big, dorky Intel backpack with my lunchbox inside. But still, it was pretty cool.
ride panda ride!!!!