Austin Bikes

Riding bicycles in Austin is fabulous. I mean who doesn't love to ride a bike? AND here in Austin it's warm, other bikers and drivers are generally friendly, and people think that you are forever hip if you show up at a party on your vintage Schwinn roadster instead of your old battered Honda. Let's be honest. It's just all about the digits.

I grew up in Austin but I haven't lived here in years. After I left I always took my bike with me. When I lived in Brooklyn, NY and in Rinconada Llicuar, rural northern Peru I rode a bike all over. One develops skills. In Park Slope, Brooklyn I was frequently being run off the road by aggressive women pushing baby carriages, only to then be picked up by attractive delivery guys bicycling Thai food to some hipster's houses. I thought that this situation balanced itself out. In Peru, The Gringa (i.e. me) doing anything was an incredible show for everyone in town, so The Gringa being the only woman to ride a bike was very entertaining for all. Role modeling, blah, blah, blah, but sometimes you just want to get where you're going so I took to riding through the rice fields where I got many fewer cat calls. Now that I'm back in Austin I have been surprised to discover that when it comes to road riding, Austin is treacherous despite it's green living and outdoors loving reputation.

It's true. There really are a lot of bicyclists in Austin riding outside and keeping their carbon emissions down in their morning commute, so you would think that drivers would be used to trying to avoid killing them. I guess traffic just varies so much. If you're riding during rush hour people are inching along impatiently, staring holes into the bumper in front of them and really they're not going very fast so it feels safer. Any other time drivers seem like they are barely looking at the windshield, much more interested in the radio, the iPhone, or the crying baby in the backseat. I feel almost ridiculous wearing my helmet when a Ford F150 pickup speeds past me grazing my earlobe on Enfield. I'm on a bike. That truck weighs a ton. There is no delivery guy to pick me up and invite me to dinner later. In any case, I know that living in central Austin is a lucky break for someone who loves bikes. There are some bike paths, even if they don't always go where you need to go. And like I said if drivers are paying attention they're usually helpful.

In sum, I am proudly announcing that on Sunday I rode down Enfield, a busy street, to meet my brother for coffee. I guess I figured that he's a resourceful guy, he would notice if I didn't show up and come looking for me. Right? It's only like a 10 minute ride from the house to Medici Cafe at West Lynn and 10th St. It was a very proud ten minutes and I highly recommend Medici for a victory chocolate chip cupcake.

You gotta watch that miss

I almost never remember my dreams and I’m always jealous of all of the people who do remember what their subconscious was working through during their brains’ mini-vacations. In fact I get so jealous that I sort of hate listening to my friends’ dreams, but in spite of myself I love it when they try to think through what the weird and incongruous unreality might mean. So, I was giddy this morning when I realized that I remembered my dream. Last night I was awakened by a false smoke alarm (low batteries, all is well) and I think that because I was not sleeping quite so soundly I had a crystalline, memorable dream. I awoke terrified that it was real and was touching my arms and feeling around in my bed to try to get in touch with reality. Touching the sheet, smelling the waking, I realized where I was and had to smile.

I dreampt that was pregnant but for the entire pregnancy I hadn’t known it. Then, one day I was in the mall in Texas and just had a baby, not gave birth, just had a baby in my arms. The dream sort of skipped over the birth process. It was a girl. Oddly, in my dream I knew and was reasoning with all of the real details of my life. I recently returned from Peru, I even more recently ended it with my fiancée on a positive note; I am looking for work, etc. So, I had this baby and I sat down to breastfeed her in the neon encrusted and greasy smelling food court of south Austin’s own Barton Creek Mall. I walked away from the table and had a panic attack when I couldn’t find her. I guess she sort of slipped off while I was breastfeeding her and I didn’t notice. In my dream I was thinking, “Gee, this feels exactly like it felt when I was on my way to visit my family in St. Louis and I forgot my laptop at the gate in the airport.” I immediately ran back to the table and found the dream baby girl laying underneath, not crying but just waving her arms and legs and being a pre-person. The guy at the next table looked over, saw me picking her up and laughingly said, “Oh thank goodness. You gotta watch that miss.” Uh thanks random man. Maybe pick up the stranded baby next time?! Relief washed over me and then lightning struck, “Gasp. My ex-fiancée. She’s his too. How will he want to handle this? Good thing he’s far away.” The flash of light a la ex also brought new meaning to Random Man’s comment. “You gotta watch that miss.” I walked away breastfeeding the baby girl and wondering how to explain my personal immaculate conception and miracle birth to my parents. Then I thought, “You know, you are 30…”

Maybe this means that I will someday give birth to a laptop?

In sum there’s the unknown pregnancy, forgetting the baby girl, an odd amount of breastfeeding for someone who has never given birth or breastfed, my laptop, and Random Man. The cheesy online dream dictionary summary of interpretation is as follows: 1. Pregnancy symbolizes some aspect of your life developing but you might not be ready to act on it (unfortunately since I didn’t know about mine I’m not sure this counts); 2. Forgetting a baby means that you feel burdened taking care of someone else; 3. Breastfeeding means nurturing and suggests that you should be careful who you confide in; 4. Laptops signify the need to reach out and communicate with others under any circumstance; and 5. Random Man may symbolize the masculine part of myself, meaning the assertive, rational and aggressive side according to the cheesy online dream dictionary, or he may represent wisdom, forgiveness and friendly daily advice.