The only time I remember being "stranded" at work was during a quick rain storm right after work. I had just started bicycle commuting and was riding a too-small department store Mongoose full-suspension mountain bike with extra-knobby WTB Velociraptor tires. I had a backpack and was wearing khaki shorts, sneakers, a cotton tee shirt, and no helmet. I hadn't even bought my first bicycle helmet at that time.

Waiting in the parking garage for the rain to stop, I noticed a slender, fit guy in spandex waiting there too. He was riding a Kestrel road bike and probably thought I was the biggest rube who ever fell off the turnip truck. We spoke briefly and he said he lived in a suburb that was probably fifteen miles away. At the time, I couldn't imagine riding a bicycle that far.