I was the top of a hill and thought to myself,
"Do I really want to come back up this hill on the way back? It's the only route."
Every workday morning, I'd see people jogging or walking along Lake Merced and was always curious what it'd be like to be on that road. I had made it this far. I figured,
"Why not go all the way? I didn't make it this far to turn back now. It's Sunday. I have time. Let's do it."
I raced down the hill still wondering in the back of my mind whether or not I made the right choice. I was dreading the return trip but tried to clear my mind and just enjoy the moment.
This was the first time I'd be in a bike lane with cars racing by over 40mph. I don't know if I'd be gutsy enough to do it if I didn't have that new mirror installed. This was probably the best piece of safety equipment I've purchased. The best way to protect is to avoid accidents.
After a few dark patches, I could finally see Burger King! I made it! The "Drive Thru Open" sign was lit. Uh oh, is that the only thing that's open? I peaked in and found some people, so I attempted to open the double doors again while pulling the trike through. The only customers there were in the back, too far away to see me come in.
Before I could even approach the cashier to put in my order, a guy
came out from the back and said,"How fast does it go? Does it go fast?"
"Not really."
"Really?"
"It's really hard to go up hills."
He knew this was probably one of his few opportunities to ask questions, so he kept going.
"What is it called?"
"It's called a recumbent trike. Recumbent means to lie down."
He walked away briefly and reported to his coworkers who were manning the drive through window. The lady putting together the Burger King paper crowns looked up.
"Does it require a license?"
"You only need a license if you go faster than 35 mph."
One of the girls comes out to the front and inspects the trike. She makes a single loop around it.
"It doesn't have seat belts!"
20 minutes earlier, I had thought about peeing in the bushes. I didn't give in. So now that a Burger King's restroom was open, I set the trike's alarm and headed for the Jon. I figured enough people at Burger King liked the trike enough to hopefully help protect it in case someone comes in and tries to swipe it. After washing my hands, I came out and found the trike was still there! Good.
The ride back so much easier than I expected. By the time I started getting tired, I looked back and I was 80% there. Just as it was getting a bit boring pedaling in the dark with cars wizzing by, I looked down about 300 feet down the road and saw a young guy smoking by the intersection. It looked like he was waiting for the bus. He said something as I rode by,
"Man, you scared me! I thought it was an Alien."
I never know what else to say,
"Hahah, good night!" and I waved.
Further down I get another comment from a group of twenty-somethings,
"Hey!!!" He's yelling thinking I can't hear him otherwise, but I'm only 30' away.
I look to my left and my neighbor whom I never met and probably doesn't know I'm his neighbor says to me,
"Looks like an alien!"
Two alien comments in on trip! So I guess it's determined. I'm officially an alien.
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