Commuter files Report #2

One great part of bike commuting is the opportunity to really connect with your town. In my quaint town of Flagstaff there is one guarantee that holds true for me: at least once a week I'll be stopped at the train tracks and be, what I like to pleasantly refer to as, double-trained - a time when not just one mile or so long train stops you from your commute, but two mile or so long trains. I used to hate it. However I recently found sollice in this weekly occurrence. It's one of life's mandatory reality checks. You're stuck, can't go forward due to a train in front, can't go backwards or side to side - you just have to wait it out. I kinda like it. I can't go, so there is no need to worry about where I need to be, and I get the chance to simply take in my town.

Anyway, I had dad's mini van in tow taking my son to school, when sure enough: bam! Double-trained! So, looking around to take in my town I noticed something cool - bikes, lots of bikes. Sitting here at the same train stop were six other bike commuters - we equaled the number of cars waiting in the same place. Then I noticed something else: we cyclists were all having mini conversations with the person next to them; yet everyone in their cars just sat there starring forward as if they were counting each and every train car that rolled by. The different conversations ranged from weather to work to gearing to whatever - it didn't really matter, it was just cool to see each of us connecting with a person from our town. What a fun way to commute I thought to myself - and what a great thing for me kids to see too! Who knows, maybe one day when my kids are of age to join our working society, they'll stop and think about days like today and decided this is how they want to live too - connected with their environment and their town.