A certain amount of fortitude is required to do a post anymore. In the old days, all I needed was an idea and I wasn’t picky about what kind, either. Heck, even bad ideas qualify as ideas, don’t they? Of course, they do.
Well, times have changed, my friends.
These days I need an “idea” and the guts of a burglar, because uploading a post now necessitates a bike ride to the library and the wonder of wi-fi. Such trips involve negotiating traffic and stop lights and curbs and pedestrians — on two wheels with twenty extra pounds strapped to your back. I’m telling you, that makes for a hair-raising expedition when I’m at the helm.
At some point, I decided it would be safer to blow through the stop lights, even if they were red, than to stop. I’m just not good at stopping — hold it, I’m fine at stopping, but starting? I wobble and careen and shimmy, then veer off wildly in big, looping arcs.. I barely make it through an intersection before the light turns yellow. Then red — which matches my face, I’m sure.
Blowing through intersections may have seemed smarter, but it wasn’t. After a bunch of tire-screeching, fist-shaking, horn honking near misses I’ve gone back to wobbling my way along streets filled with danger.
Take sewer grates, for example. They seem to come out of nowhere, you know? And one of them has my name on it — it’s going to slot my tire as I speed across the grate and launch me over the handlebars. I just know it. Or maybe I’ll skid on loose gravel and magically become street luge.
Well, whatever. At least it gets me out of the house.
Copyright © Publikworks 2012
the whirly girl 
22 responses to “: please, call me wobbler :”
As you said – stopping is the easy part. I, too, am a wobbler. I easily visualized the shimmying and veering. You described it perfectly.
I am grateful you face the traffic to get these posts out to us – your fans. Will this continue in the heat of the summer? I sure hope you live in an area that is flat, Lisa.
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Today and yesterday were in the 90s with a blazing sun and high humidity, not to mention gale force winds — up to 40 mph. I chickened out and used the car, isn’t that shameful?
PS. I’m in Illinois, flat is what we specialize in : )
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Quick, smoke-signal me something — anything. Can’t you smoke-signal a youtube clip of Beaker?
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When I crash or now? Does this count?
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You’re a wobbler.
Do you have a tech-savy friend and a neighbor with wifi? Put two and two together.
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hahaha, hi, Susan! You’re a clever woman, thanks.
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Whoever started “it’s just like riding a bike” clearly had no experience in not riding a bike for years. I would love to get my hands on the camera that I hope filmed me on the way home from purchasing my new bike a few years ago, ten years after last riding one. Plenty of wobbling and a bit of face planting too. I too have still not mastered stopping; I have bruises on my ankles to prove it.
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Hi, feelingchipper, it’s great to meet you! I’m relieved to know I’m not the only wobbler around — misery loves company and all that. By the way, how long will it take before we can stop, do you think?
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I hate to say it, but my feeling is we might just never get there. You and I might have to become pros at finding other ways of stopping ourselves such as running into trees, gutters, or pedestrians…
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Well, shoot, I was hoping maybe someday I’d be stopping with the best of them. No, huh? I have bad aim, as well, so I’ll just have to fall over, I guess. Maybe we can share an ambulance, feelingchipper?
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Sounds good Wobbler! Also, I’ll change my name to Wibbler so we can be Wibbler and Wobbler. Have fun!
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Cool!
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My neighbor goes to the library to use wifi, because she just can’t get at&t to give her enough minutes on her ipad. Not sure what an 80 year old woman could be doing online that would burn through that many minutes, but hey to each their own.
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We could speculate, never contrary, but nothing good would come of it, I’m afraid. Just nightmares, probably : )
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O’er hill and vale, she bikes and blogs beyond the pale…
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You’re terrific, home tome. And a poet, to boot! How are things in Nyack?
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Strap that helmet on tight. :) Appreciate your work!!
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Thank you, John, that’s nice of you to say. I appreciate you stopping by!
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LOL Ride safely :)
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Hi, Roly. So far, so good : )
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They say cycling in Montreal might be more harmful on one’s life than bath salts… Fact. Glad you’re ok!
Le Clown
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Hi, Clown! How goes it up there?
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