6/30/2010
The short story: just before arriving in Newark, my iphone dropped off my bike and was shortly destroyed by countless passing cars on route 22.
The long story:
Chapter 1: Leaving Lambertville
I woke up around six at Tim and Louise’s house. Had another nice conversation with both of them in the morning over breakfast. They were great people and very hospitable. Their house was so quiet, off in the country a few miles from town. I left there around 7:30, I think, and headed north east, as always. I was on Canal road for a while, which is what it sounds like. It was a good choice given the other options of NJ thoroughfares.
Chapter 2: Incident #1
Just as I was leaving Canal road, I pulled into a gas station to check my bearings. As I was pulling out, an SUV cut me off just enough to make me stop in my tracks. I wasn’t fast enough with getting out of my clips, so (a bit slower than gravity) I fell over. This didn’t hurt, but it did twist my seatpost out of alignment. No problem, right? I’ll just get out my nice multi-tool and fix it in a jiffy. Nope. Turns out I left that somewhere, probably at my parents’ place. So I ride my crooked seat bike 12 miles to the nearest bike shop. Nice guy, we got to talking. He’s been a bike mechanic for 30 years, but never rode bikes, never owned one, didn’t want to see a bike after the day was over. But recently, he bough a top of the line Fuji. So, he’s fresh and loving it now. We talked, I bought a hex set and replaced my handlebar cap (which had also fallen off, unbeknownst to me), and I was on my way.
Chapter 3: Going, Going, gone.
I called my friends Robert and Sarah, who have been staying in Newark, and we decided to meet up and then go to a restaurant for lunch. It was noon, so I found the fastest way into town: Route 22. Now, this road is a real pain to drive on (although it does have one of the best thrift stores around- Unique Thrift), but for high-speed biking it’s fine. Basically, it’s a highway I’m allowed to ride on. Not only did I have a great tailwind from the sky, but I had a pretty constant draft from the cars passing by. And usually there was a significant shoulder to ride in. So, I was making good time, about 25mph. I stopped at some point to check the directions again and continued.
Then I looked down and my iphone was gone.
No panic. Don’t panic. Not panicking.
I didn’t want to ride backwards on the road, so I lifted my bike over the guard rail into the woods and ran back. First, I found the metal casing with more than four angles in it. Then the screen, with screen protector intact. Then I watched as my battery/electronics were repeatedly crushed by passing cars. I retrieved 7 pieces of the phone before heading back to my bike, which luckily as still there.
Oh, and I was out of water. I stopped into Wendy’s to pick up some water and saw a guy with an iphone. So I grabbed it out of his hand and ran off. And then I asked him if I could use his phone for a second and he handed it to me and I checked the map and sent Robert an email and headed on my way.
Chapter 4: the Ironbound
Upon entering Newark, I found the Ironbound district (enclosed on all sides by railroads, fyi) and found the designated restaurant to meet the friends. Taste of Portugal. First I walked in with my bike clothes on and that was weird, but then I was able to lock my bike in their garage and get more normal clothes. Had a Palm beer and a half dozen raw oysters, and I was feeling a bit better. Friends showed up, the Portugal vs. Spain game came on (what better place to be?), and the nice guy next to me at the bar handed me a shot of Petron XO Café. Btw, that stuff is way too delicious.
Proceeded to eat a cheesesteak (not a chopped steak, but a super tender steak on a bun) and drink Sangria (which means “bloodletting” according to wikipedia). This restaurant does it quite well. Portugal lost, but it was ok. There were dozens of fans from both sides cheering throughout the game, so it was pretty intense.
Chapter 5: Short Hills and the rest
From there we went to the Short Hills Mall, one of the gaudiest consumerist utopias ever. The Apple store was there, and immediately we were surrounded by 60 people drooling over electronics and then having to pay for water damage. I showed them my remains, and they kind of chuckled and said “well, that sucks.” My $70 AppleCare doesn’t cover anything I actually do to the phone. Then they said to go to the AT&T store down the hall. They said the same thing. But, I was able to use the upgrade option on my dad’s line to get a replacement for the normal price. Unfortunately, they had sold out of 4Gs that morning and it would take 2 weeks for them to ship one to me. In the interest of the trip, and my reservations about getting the first run of a new phone, and the fact that I’m trying not to spend too many dollars, I opted for the brand new 3GS 8Gb. Half the memory of my old phone, half the price ($99). And, done.
Now I have a slightly inferior version of my ‘real’ phone, as I’m calling it. The battery is fresh, though, so that’s nice. Really, this was a rather painless process.
Pizza for dinner, Miami Vice before bed, and I just woke up on the couch.
From here: I continue to Boston. I don’t know my route yet or where I’m staying along the way. I’m just going north east, as always. Pretty sure I’m sticking to the mainland rather than tackling Long Island, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far. I’ll let my iphone lead the way. Carefully.
The short story: just before arriving in Newark, my iphone dropped off my bike and was shortly destroyed by countless passing cars on route 22.
The long story:
Chapter 1: Leaving Lambertville
I woke up around six at Tim and Louise’s house. Had another nice conversation with both of them in the morning over breakfast. They were great people and very hospitable. Their house was so quiet, off in the country a few miles from town. I left there around 7:30, I think, and headed north east, as always. I was on Canal road for a while, which is what it sounds like. It was a good choice given the other options of NJ thoroughfares.
Chapter 2: Incident #1
Just as I was leaving Canal road, I pulled into a gas station to check my bearings. As I was pulling out, an SUV cut me off just enough to make me stop in my tracks. I wasn’t fast enough with getting out of my clips, so (a bit slower than gravity) I fell over. This didn’t hurt, but it did twist my seatpost out of alignment. No problem, right? I’ll just get out my nice multi-tool and fix it in a jiffy. Nope. Turns out I left that somewhere, probably at my parents’ place. So I ride my crooked seat bike 12 miles to the nearest bike shop. Nice guy, we got to talking. He’s been a bike mechanic for 30 years, but never rode bikes, never owned one, didn’t want to see a bike after the day was over. But recently, he bough a top of the line Fuji. So, he’s fresh and loving it now. We talked, I bought a hex set and replaced my handlebar cap (which had also fallen off, unbeknownst to me), and I was on my way.
Chapter 3: Going, Going, gone.
I called my friends Robert and Sarah, who have been staying in Newark, and we decided to meet up and then go to a restaurant for lunch. It was noon, so I found the fastest way into town: Route 22. Now, this road is a real pain to drive on (although it does have one of the best thrift stores around- Unique Thrift), but for high-speed biking it’s fine. Basically, it’s a highway I’m allowed to ride on. Not only did I have a great tailwind from the sky, but I had a pretty constant draft from the cars passing by. And usually there was a significant shoulder to ride in. So, I was making good time, about 25mph. I stopped at some point to check the directions again and continued.
Then I looked down and my iphone was gone.
No panic. Don’t panic. Not panicking.
I didn’t want to ride backwards on the road, so I lifted my bike over the guard rail into the woods and ran back. First, I found the metal casing with more than four angles in it. Then the screen, with screen protector intact. Then I watched as my battery/electronics were repeatedly crushed by passing cars. I retrieved 7 pieces of the phone before heading back to my bike, which luckily as still there.
Oh, and I was out of water. I stopped into Wendy’s to pick up some water and saw a guy with an iphone. So I grabbed it out of his hand and ran off. And then I asked him if I could use his phone for a second and he handed it to me and I checked the map and sent Robert an email and headed on my way.
Chapter 4: the Ironbound
Upon entering Newark, I found the Ironbound district (enclosed on all sides by railroads, fyi) and found the designated restaurant to meet the friends. Taste of Portugal. First I walked in with my bike clothes on and that was weird, but then I was able to lock my bike in their garage and get more normal clothes. Had a Palm beer and a half dozen raw oysters, and I was feeling a bit better. Friends showed up, the Portugal vs. Spain game came on (what better place to be?), and the nice guy next to me at the bar handed me a shot of Petron XO Café. Btw, that stuff is way too delicious.
Proceeded to eat a cheesesteak (not a chopped steak, but a super tender steak on a bun) and drink Sangria (which means “bloodletting” according to wikipedia). This restaurant does it quite well. Portugal lost, but it was ok. There were dozens of fans from both sides cheering throughout the game, so it was pretty intense.
Chapter 5: Short Hills and the rest
From there we went to the Short Hills Mall, one of the gaudiest consumerist utopias ever. The Apple store was there, and immediately we were surrounded by 60 people drooling over electronics and then having to pay for water damage. I showed them my remains, and they kind of chuckled and said “well, that sucks.” My $70 AppleCare doesn’t cover anything I actually do to the phone. Then they said to go to the AT&T store down the hall. They said the same thing. But, I was able to use the upgrade option on my dad’s line to get a replacement for the normal price. Unfortunately, they had sold out of 4Gs that morning and it would take 2 weeks for them to ship one to me. In the interest of the trip, and my reservations about getting the first run of a new phone, and the fact that I’m trying not to spend too many dollars, I opted for the brand new 3GS 8Gb. Half the memory of my old phone, half the price ($99). And, done.
Now I have a slightly inferior version of my ‘real’ phone, as I’m calling it. The battery is fresh, though, so that’s nice. Really, this was a rather painless process.
Pizza for dinner, Miami Vice before bed, and I just woke up on the couch.
From here: I continue to Boston. I don’t know my route yet or where I’m staying along the way. I’m just going north east, as always. Pretty sure I’m sticking to the mainland rather than tackling Long Island, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten so far. I’ll let my iphone lead the way. Carefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment