Another Bike Adventure

My son and I have been planning to ride our bikes from East Nashville to the Vanderbilt area. We have wanted to do it for awhile, but haven't had the time or opportunity to chart our course. This past Saturday we finally did a trail run, and it worked out great! We had a little trouble downtown where there is construction, but now that we have found the route that is safest (and has the least amount of hills), we are planning to do it for real (with morning traffic) this Friday.
The great thing about riding our bikes is the time we get to spend together, and the sights we see along the way that we might not notice even when riding the bus. And if the weather becomes bad or we have a problem with our bikes, we don't venture far from the bus lines, so we can put our bikes on the front of the bus if we need to. I'm looking forward to our adventure on Friday; can't wait to let you know how it goes!

Connections

One of the things that makes riding the bus so much fun is running into other commuters when we are not on the bus. Yesterday, I ran into two different bus riders, one at my work and the other at hers. It was nice to recall how we knew each other, which routes we take and to get to know each other 'outside the bus'. Just being able to connect with other people on a daily basis that I might not otherwise know or even notice is rewarding. We live in a world where we are more 'connected' than ever before in history, via cell phones, the Internet and other technological advances. But even with all of the ways to 'connect' how often do we have the opportunity to  really have meaningful interactions with the people around us? Riding the bus and meeting people in our community give me the opportunity to do that, and along the way meet some really interesting folks.
While meeting people and talking with them, it also gives us the opportunity to possibly make a difference in their day, which in turn makes a difference in ours. Often while riding the bus, I have occasion to talk to vendors of the homeless paper The Contributor. One vendor in particular we see and support regularly, and yesterday she was unusually burdened. Most of the time, she is upbeat and positive about her situation, but lately, things have been more difficult than usual. I didn't have any extra cash to share, but I did have something that would be of value to her. Earlier in the day, a co-worker gave me the bus pass that was a gift from our employer last year. She wasn't going to use it and wanted me to pass it on to someone who would need it. When my vendor friend told me of her stresses this week, I was able to give her that bus pass that will at least relieve the cost of commuting to work for one day. It wasn't much, but her gratitude made me thankful to have the opportunity to share.
So, it's a give and take that we enjoy while riding from one point to another; something I can't recall enjoying or even thinking about when I was able to hop in my car and speed to my destinations. The opportunity for human connection, interaction and assistance is what it's all about for me.

Driver With a Sweet Tooth

€Most bus drivers are courteous and prompt, sometimes even ahead of schedule. This morning, however, the driver was not. We had walked briskly to make the connection for the bus to my son's summer camp. Upon arriving, there was a line of people waiting to board because the driver was not there. Sometimes, drivers will run to the restroom or something between routes, but are usually back in enough time to allow passengers to board and stay on schedule. Well, as the scheduled departure time came and went, we all started to wonder what could be keeping our driver. We were all shocked and more than a little perturbed to see him strolling up to the bus with food and drink from the Dunkin Doughnuts upstairs! He is putting all of us behind schedule for a sweet treat?! One passenger remarked that he at least could have brought enough for all of us! As I said, this is the exception, not the rule. But it was a funny story I thought you might enjoy.

A Little Too Carefree

I have had two of the funniest experiences this week, and the joke has been on me! First, early in the week when my son and I were on our way to work and summer camp. After reaching the depot, we had been taking a different bus than normal to reach his summer camp instead of the one we take during the school year. But this day, on our bus close to home, we ran into a dear bus friend we hadn't seen in awhile, and I became engrossed in catching up with her. When we all reached the depot to change buses, she was getting on the bus we would normally ride to go to school/work, so we joined her out of habit (and still enjoying our conversation). After we boarded the bus, our usual morning bus friends greeted us with such enthusiasm (they hadn't seen us in a couple of weeks), I thought to myself, 'How nice to have such a nice group of people to ride with in the morning! What a blessing to get to wish a good morning/day to several people before even arriving at work!' It wasn't until we were almost at our usual stop near work/school that I realized we were not going to school! We needed to be on the other bus that takes us to camp. We had gotten on the wrong bus! Me, the 'bus blogger' and self-proclaimed bus expert took the bus going the other way! Then when I sent a text to my workmates telling them I would be a little late because I took the wrong bus, they both said, 'Sure you did!' as if they couldn't believe I would do such a thing! That gave us all quite a laugh, although it was not as funny once we got started walking in the direction we needed to go. Both of us arrived at our respective destinations, a little humbled by the experience.
The next 'too carefree' moment came while I was out of town visiting family this weekend. My son and I again had taken the bus to the airport area to rent a vehicle to drive out of town. While out of town, we were driving the rented vehicle to the grocery store with our family in tow. When we first arrived at the store, we were not all going in, but then it was decided we needed more than originally thought. So we all went in the store, purchased our items, looked for a movie to rent and headed to the car; all of this took about 20-30 minutes. While I was searching my purse for the keys to the rental car, I noticed that my son and nephew had already jumped in the back seat. I thought that was odd because I presumed that I locked the car upon exiting. Well then I became concerned that I had left the keys in the car, but was mortified to learn that I had left the keys in the ignition and left the car RUNNING! A woman in the car next to us commented how fortunate we were that no one had taken advantage of the situation. After we all agreed and settled down from the laughter (again at my expense) all I could say in my defense was, 'Well, on the bus all I have to do is exit at my stop! I don't have to worry about turning off the vehicle, locking it or keeping up with more keys!' As my sister-in-law came up from her laughter for air, she said to me, 'You need to blog about this!'
Both experiences help me to see in a humorous way that I am becoming more 'carefree' about the things in life you can do little about. I just need to remember to not be 'careless' about those things I need to be mindful of. Oops.

I wish I could explain the tremendous freedom I feel riding the bus. You might think that it is limiting having to operate within the confines of the bus lines and schedules. But for me, it is just the opposite. Today, I took my little 'granny cart' to Whole Body and Trader Joe's and felt so free. The weather had cooled after the rain, so it was pleasant to be outdoors. And I had just enough time before the bus came back (and just enough room in my cart) to buy the things on my list. Nothing more, nothing less and staying within my budget. I don't have the time or space to overspend! Riding the bus saves me time and money. Maybe being car-less isn't the path to financial freedom, but it sure helps along the way.