# Small smiles on the commute



## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Most days, my commute is mostly pleasant. Rarely, there are one or more unpleasant incidents (usually involving rude drivers), but I try not to let them spoil my day.

Occasionally, something happens that makes me smile. There were two such incidents yesterday, both small, no big deal.

1. One of my alternate commute routes intersects a train track, a little-used freight spur, and I have never encountered a train there, in probably a few hundred trips. But yesterday a short train (locomotive and maybe 6 cars) was crossing, and I had to wait a bit. The smile part came after, when the track runs parallel to the road for half a mile or so. I sprinted after it, caught up, and passed the train. I raced a train and won! It was probably going 15 miles per hour, but I got a little kick out of it.

2. A mile or two later I passed a construction site, and a flagman with a stop sign was stopping traffic so a dumptruck could back out and turn. I went up to the head of the line as the truck was pulling away, but was still blocking most of the road. The flagman told me, "You can go ahead, man." I said, "Thanks; I don't take up too much room, anyway." He laughed heartily and said, "You sho' nuff don't, brother!" (I swear, he said it exactly like that.) Another smile.

No big deals, but the little pleasurable moments are worth something.

Ride on, peoples, and savor the smiles.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Gotta love those flagmen. I had one greet me with a "Good morning, gorgeous!" or something to that effect. 

Which other times.......hmmm.......

One time, when I stopped at the halfway point to get some Italian ices, the guy serving me said that he too loves to ride, usually rides to work, and after work, will ride down to the greenway by the water for some extra riding before getting home, miles out of his way. 

One morning a few months ago, I came upon a friendly Greek orthodox priest riding to his job in Brooklyn. Said he tries to ride about 1x/week, gets a kick out of it, but we didn't have a chance to talk much before he had to turn. Or maybe he recognized my name from PO?? 

While riding on a path with my sister north of NYC, I found a stuffed Gund kitten. Tucked it under the bungee cord on my rack, and washed it when I got home. Seems fitting that I found this while riding with my sister, who basically collects cats (mostly defective.) Started a "found stuffed kitten" collection with it, now up to 3.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Smiles are good, big or small. Life is what you make it.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

Ha! I pulled up to an ATM today to get some cash, leaning my bike against the building between the ATM and me.

A customer walks up to the front door and says, "That's the way to do it! Even the drive-through lane is slower than you!"

I laughed and told him that's just ONE of the many advantages of bicycles!


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## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

I believe those are some of the moments that being on a bicycle you'll would only be able to appreciate. The fresh air and sun shining along with a dose of endorphins.

People are under so much pressure these days and few have the opportunity to enjoy the little things that make life more then just mundane.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

One of the things that always brings a smile to my face are the little kids on their 12 or 14 inch bicycles, on the sidewalks playing, that will pick up their pace and try and keep up when I ride by on the street. 

They may be children on toy bicycles, but they look to be cyclists in their heart.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

velodog said:


> One of the things that always brings a smile to my face are the little kids on their 12 or 14 inch bicycles, on the sidewalks playing, that will pick up their pace and try and keep up when I ride by on the street.
> 
> They may be children on toy bicycles, but they look to be cyclists in their heart.


Heck yes, they're cyclists. A bicycle is a bicycle, and I give anybody on a bicycle a nod or a wave or a smile. With the little kids, if they're wearing a helmet I say "nice hat," and rap on my helmet with my knuckles. A little reinforcement.

In many ways the best thing about traveling by bicycle is that ability to interact with other human beings. You just don't get that in a car.


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## MisterMike (Aug 12, 2004)

JCavilia said:


> Heck yes, they're cyclists. A bicycle is a bicycle, and I give anybody on a bicycle a nod or a wave or a smile. With the little kids, if they're wearing a helmet I say "nice hat," and rap on my helmet with my knuckles. A little reinforcement.
> 
> In many ways the best thing about traveling by bicycle is that ability to interact with other human beings. You just don't get that in a car.


Yeah, those little ones are cyclists. But, oddly (or humorously) enough, there have been some times I've raised an eyebrow at newscasters using the word "cyclist". As in "Cyclist Robs Man" or "Gang of Cyclists Attacks Bystander". I almost immediately think, "No, it was someone riding a bicycle, not a _cyclist_" Seriously, if it was a person on a horse that attacked someone would they say "Equestrian Assaults Man"? No, they would say "Man on a Horse Attacks Man". I'm not saying cyclists or equestrians never do those things. We sure have heard about cyclists that have assaulted motorists. I venture a guess there's also been some epic melees on the polo field. I'm just saying how I hear the word. Silly since I know "cyclist" is simply "a person who rides a bicycle".

And, about things that make me smile on a ride? Just about any little kid playing in their front yard who gets those wide "I want to do that" eyes when they see a fancy bike ride by. And, dogs. Yep, dogs. I like dogs. Always have. The vast majority of the ones I pass are either leashed or just chilling. But some big, dopey, furry beast of a dog always a good thing. YMMV.


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## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

JCavilia said:


> Heck yes, they're cyclists. A bicycle is a bicycle, and *I give anybody on a bicycle a nod or a wave or a smile*. With the little kids, if they're wearing a helmet I say "nice hat," and rap on my helmet with my knuckles. A little reinforcement.
> 
> In many ways the best thing about traveling by bicycle is that ability to interact with other human beings. You just don't get that in a car.


Oh no you didn't just say that; it's on now. Actually, I do that as well and reading this thread put a smile on my face.


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## SPlKE (Sep 10, 2007)

I raced a train along the Schuylkill River Trail near Norristown. 

After passing the engine, I turned and gave the engineer the arm gesture for blow the whistle. He gave me a couple of horn blasts and laughed.

Sort of made my day.


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## mtrac (Sep 23, 2013)

The crossing guard on Broad Ave who waves when I pass, often from inside his car
The monk parakeets tending to their nest at Anderson Ave and Columbia Ave, which I watch while waiting for the light
The crew teams on Overpeck Creek
Always wanted to try getting an engineer to blow the whistle.


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## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

SPlKE said:


> I raced a train along the Schuylkill River Trail near Norristown.
> 
> After passing the engine, I turned and gave the engineer the arm gesture for blow the whistle. He gave me a couple of horn blasts and laughed.
> 
> Sort of made my day.











This usually makes my day. Best feeling in the world!


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## jason124 (Jul 25, 2006)

*This was a pretty big smile*

I'll just leave this here.


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## SauronHimself (Nov 21, 2012)

Cyclist69 said:


> View attachment 313384
> 
> 
> This usually makes my day. Best feeling in the world!


That is me at work. We have one of those speed detectors, but the limit on the property is 10 mph. In a car you can do that with your foot off the pedal.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

SauronHimself said:


> That is me at work. We have one of those speed detectors, but the limit on the property is 10 mph. In a car you can do that with your foot off the pedal.


Ahhh memories! When I first got the track bike, and like a lunatic commuted the 6 miles each way to work, there was a speed thing like that. If it said 16 or 17, that was cool; if it said 25 or so, that meant a car was coming up behind me.


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Forgot to mention this guy: Eyes on Prophet, Hands on Wheel - NYTimes.com

Rode past him once up on the pedestrian bridge, said "Hi! Good to see you!" and he seemed shocked that I spoke to him.


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