Spartan925
Warriors' Watch Rider
Today I decided to take advantage of a Saturday when my wife was at work all day to do something special for her. We had been in SF yesterday and she saw a purse she liked at a store. She decided to keep looking, and when she came back to grab the one she liked, it was gone. Seeing as I had dropped the ball this year and didn't go all out for Mother's Day like I should have, I set out to a local location of that particular store to find what she had wanted.
I hopped in the car, dropped the wife off at work, and headed to said store. Luckily, they had the purse...but not the matching wallet. I knew the matching wallet would really put the surprise over the top and complete the ensemble and win me back some serious points. Like I said, I really dropped the ball on Mother's Day. So I decided to venture out to another location of this particular store and see if they had said wallet. Keep in mind that this particular chain does not carry the exact same items at every location so a phone call to check inventory would likely have been fruitless.
I had a few other tasks on my list that would hopefully further my point-gaining potential once the wife returned home so I decided to leave directly from the local store to the one further out. This is where I realize I went wrong.
I arrived at the store, and much to my displeasure, they did not have the matching wallet in stock. In addition to thinking a phone call might have been worth a try...I also thought to myself something that is haunting me to this very minute.
I should have taken the bike.
Sure, I'd have had to head back home in the opposite direction, change into my gear...but what ended up being a fruitless quest via a boring trip in our boring sedan...could have been summed up on a positive note with a general consensus of, "At least I got to ride."
To put things in perspective, 90% of my riding lately has been commuting to and from work. The same freeway, or if I'm not on a time crunch, the same back roads leading to one of two destinations. Very infrequently have I gone for a ride...just to ride. And I've got to say, the realization that I just missed a chance to enjoy some non-commute related seat time really made me realize how much I do enjoy riding, especially when it's done with no time constraints or specific destination in mind.
Driving for me used to be the end-all, be-all activity. When I was a child, I *lived* for the times my dad let me sit in his lap as we pulled the car into the garage. I would watch him leave for work not just to see him off but because I loved watching the car drive off. I took paper plates and cut them up to resemble steering wheels, then mimic my dad's every move as I sat behind him in the left rear seat. Getting my license and taking mom's car out for the first time was an event of biblical proportions for 17-year old me.
13 years later, I still enjoy driving, but it's become so routine and commonplace that it doesn't give me the thrill it once did. (Driving a Honda Civic may have something to do with that, but that's another story) Riding, on the other hand, while still giving me a way to get from point A to B...still offers something that driving a car just can't seem to provide.
tl;dr, before you go with what's convenient and just take the car...think to yourself...maybe I should ride.
I hopped in the car, dropped the wife off at work, and headed to said store. Luckily, they had the purse...but not the matching wallet. I knew the matching wallet would really put the surprise over the top and complete the ensemble and win me back some serious points. Like I said, I really dropped the ball on Mother's Day. So I decided to venture out to another location of this particular store and see if they had said wallet. Keep in mind that this particular chain does not carry the exact same items at every location so a phone call to check inventory would likely have been fruitless.
I had a few other tasks on my list that would hopefully further my point-gaining potential once the wife returned home so I decided to leave directly from the local store to the one further out. This is where I realize I went wrong.
I arrived at the store, and much to my displeasure, they did not have the matching wallet in stock. In addition to thinking a phone call might have been worth a try...I also thought to myself something that is haunting me to this very minute.
I should have taken the bike.
Sure, I'd have had to head back home in the opposite direction, change into my gear...but what ended up being a fruitless quest via a boring trip in our boring sedan...could have been summed up on a positive note with a general consensus of, "At least I got to ride."
To put things in perspective, 90% of my riding lately has been commuting to and from work. The same freeway, or if I'm not on a time crunch, the same back roads leading to one of two destinations. Very infrequently have I gone for a ride...just to ride. And I've got to say, the realization that I just missed a chance to enjoy some non-commute related seat time really made me realize how much I do enjoy riding, especially when it's done with no time constraints or specific destination in mind.
Driving for me used to be the end-all, be-all activity. When I was a child, I *lived* for the times my dad let me sit in his lap as we pulled the car into the garage. I would watch him leave for work not just to see him off but because I loved watching the car drive off. I took paper plates and cut them up to resemble steering wheels, then mimic my dad's every move as I sat behind him in the left rear seat. Getting my license and taking mom's car out for the first time was an event of biblical proportions for 17-year old me.
13 years later, I still enjoy driving, but it's become so routine and commonplace that it doesn't give me the thrill it once did. (Driving a Honda Civic may have something to do with that, but that's another story) Riding, on the other hand, while still giving me a way to get from point A to B...still offers something that driving a car just can't seem to provide.
tl;dr, before you go with what's convenient and just take the car...think to yourself...maybe I should ride.
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