the ride home

so there i was, kicking my way home.

let me explain. my bike frequently has problems. she is really a special spirit with a personality of her own. her favorite thing is to jam the chain while i am either freezing, tired, hungry, or in desperate need of groceries. ally and i had just gotten some delicious ice [my new favorite thing in taiwan] and i pull out to grab some bread and popsicles before heading home. and then ACCHHHKKK clunk. the chain slipped off and quickly jammed into the doohickey, for lack of a technical term. i still needed bread so ally started home while i stopped by the bakery on the way home. the lady asked me if i wanted to wash my hands because they were completely black from playing with the chain. i politely "meiguinxi"ed and went on my way. picture me kicking every so often against the street and then swinging my legs back and forth [like an overexcited three year old on a carousal ride] to gain momentum. all the while praying that the dogs wouldn't sense my inadequacy. thank goodness for downhill rides home. though i did get temporarily held up by some sort of slimy thing hitting my foot, i finally got home.

good news: i would easily win in a "move your bike as fast as possible without touching the pedals but still being on the seat" contest, my hip flexors are much stronger than before, and i laughed enough at myself to last at least one day.

bad news: i have no way to pick up popsicles tomorrow.

p.s. to prevent confusion--picture from biking down taroko when lover was still here. i can only wish that i owned a bike that nice. or looked like that after getting slime attacked and workin' out the hips. someday...