Digital Gee

Went for a short ride today.

Just starting out, I come across a wooden desk accessory that holds files, pens, papers, etc. Perfect condition, set out on the curb. I bring it home.

Then I get going again and after a fashion, stop at a small park nearby that overlooks a steep canyon. I'm sitting there and an odd looking fellow (stereotype: homeless) comes pedaling by on an old bike. He stops and hops off the bike. Suddenly, he picks up the bike over his head, and HEAVES it over a five foot wrought-iron fence that keeps people from falling into the canyon. I couldn't believe my eyes!

Then, talking to himself (or someone unseen by mere mortals) he moves to a nearby table, and removes two half-gallon bottles of water from within his clothing. He pours the water on the table, and pulls off a shirt (one of several he was wearing) and wipes the table over and over, all the while talking. He then tosses the shirt on the ground and walks away.

I'm still in shock over the blatant case of bikocide. I go over to the fence and realize there's no way I can climb it and retrieve the bike. It's likely to stay where it came to rest for a long, long time.

I felt awful. If he had simply abandoned the bike, I could have walked it home, and given it to Goodwill. It was working, after all.

Finally, as I rode home, I discovered an estate sale in a house down the street I've always wanted to see from the inside. Looked around, and was told it was a Sears and Roebuck Craftsman house, which back in the Olden Days one could purchase through a catalogue and they'd ship all the wood, nails, etc. by rail and you'd build it yourself. Pretty cool house, too!

All in all, a weird little ride.

maddmaxx 

There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition.

Tom Bombadil

You should've shown your spiritual support for the guy and heaved your bike over the fence too.

DnvrFox

"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."
-R. Serling

+1

cyclinfool

Sounds like a poor schizophrenic to me - which is why he is probably homeless. Probably needs medication. That is really sad - so many mentally ill people drop off the deep end in this society of ours.

Mojo Slim

We have one of these in my old home town, Quincy, CA. Except it's all big bricks. Detached garage/barn to go with it. Wish I had a picture to show you.

byte_speed

And helped him clean the table.

ad6mj

Either that, or at least give the guy a boost over the fence so he could get his bike back.

stapfam

This guy was obviously an eccentric. Cleaned the Table because you had just had your lunch on it and left it in a filthy state and that bike was probably a Cervello- that he put over the fence for some luckless roadie to pass by and get a couple of 12 year olds to hop over the fence to retrieve it. Then following on from his gesture of goodwill- the Old bike you were riding could go over the fence for the next rider that wants a bike and you could have washed the next table with the 1/2 bottle of Moet Chandon the eccentric had left in the bottle carrier and used the boys jackets to wipe down the table. Just to teach them to stay away from wierd grown-ups.

cranky old dude

Partly similiar ride here, some 3000 miles away, only the treasure I found
was an old printer's drawer complete with little type-set compartments.
Came back with the bride and the Camry to pick it up.

I did not however, see any bikes getting tossed over fences.

Beverly

Maybe the saddle was uncomfortable


I would love to see one of these houses. I've seen a few documentaries on them but I've never seen one in person.

BSLeVan

+1 We do not currently live in a kinder, gentler nation. In my own locale, I see people everyday struggling to survive on the streets, when (for many, not all) simple treatment would change their lives and improve the life of the overall community.

DG: That was one very interesting ride. I might even sign up for such a ride. Do you think you'll ever go into business as a cycling tour guide in the land of weird?

Yen

That bike-tossing story horrifies me as well, but of course is not as sad as the story of the man who tossed it.

The story reminds me of a show I saw on TV about a year ago (or was it a news story???) about a company that hauls away people's unwanted belongings. It showed someone literally throwing a bike into the back of the dumpster. I wanted to reach through the TV and grab the bike and rescue it. Just another example of our throw-away society.

Widsith

When I was in college there was a rather eccentric guy in my family's home town who always wore an old WWII army helmet. Often he'd be seen striding along in a brisk and purposeful manner though he never seemed to be headed for any particular destination. Sometimes he'd come sit inside my uncle's gas station for hours and make pleasant, but rather vacant and disjointed conversation with whomever came in. I asked my uncle about him once. He said the man used to work in another gas station years earlier, until a tire he was inflating exploded and a piece of the wire bead struck him in the head. From that time on he was never quite "right" again, and that's when he started wearing a helmet everywhere he went. My uncle said he was harmless and felt sorry for him, and that's why he allowed him to sit around and talk to the customers for as long as he wanted.

Artkansas 

It just shows why drugs are forbidden at the Tour de France.

The Smokester

I'm from California, too, and this just seems like a perfectly normal ride.

Louis

I think he was part of the Upper Management Annual Bicycle Ride which takes place in your town. Nothing especially surprising there.