Riding on the short bus

I know, most of you probably think that I should be no stranger to riding the short bus. I've never tried to actually shoe-horn a bicycle into one though. The short buses don't have bicycle carriers, so I got hosed today. I still don't know why they sent a short bus today.

I left the apartment this morning a few minutes later than I wanted to. While riding to the "official" bus stop, I pondered riding all the way in. As I rode along, though, a thought manifested itself. My parents are coming over to see the new apartment tonight, and I still have a bunch of boxes in the Explorer to bring up. Furthermore, there are many boxes already in the apartment that I need to either put somewhere or unpack. I figured I'd better save my energy. I thought this was my old friend "better judgment" speaking to me. Boy was I wrong.

First off, I've acclimated to the bus running a little ahead of schedule. Today it was late. Then, when it shows up, it's a short bus that's already pretty full, and now I have to figure out a way to load my bike inside. There's room for it in the handicap spot, but getting it ONTO the bus was the chore. I ended up opening up the emergency door on the back and lifting the bike into the bus that way.

Since I was on the short bus, I left my bike helmet on. :P

I do believe I'm sick of my new bus route. Monday begins the new deal. Unless the weather's bad or I'm too tired to use my bike, I'm not using the bus anymore. It's a hassle. It's slow to get me between my destinations. It's unpredictable. I'm done.

I finally got my Delta Vincent bike rack set up last night. Since it's hiding in the storage closet, I'm also using it to hold most of my bicycle tools and supplies. The rack is light and functional. It took me a while to get accustomed to getting the bikes on and off the rack. As you can tell, the bikes hang a little close together, so the handlebars kind of interfere with each other a little. It would probably work better with a pair of road bikes. All in all, though, it provides some much-needed storage room for my bikes and other stuff. I couldn't beat the price, either, as it was a dirt-cheap Craigslist find.

The shelving and hooks give me a place to put my toolbox, bungees, and cleaning supplies. It keeps them out of the way, and still looks pretty good, not like anyone will see any of this stuff hanging in my locked storage room.