flowers + leaves + bikes

crazy beautiful out today. been riding my bike lately. riding my bike reminds me of living in santa cruz and lund, sweden (the only places i've lived where i rode my bike regularly).

in santa cruz, i rode my bike most when i lived off of emeline street. in the summer before my last semester in college, i worked on the porter paint crew, painting dorm rooms and hallways. i would ride my bike to the bus stop and put it on the bus. (the road to campus was very steep.) that was such a fun job, mostly because we painted in teams, carrying a ghettoblaster around with us. there were about ten of us on the paint crew and we didn't know each other beforehand. somehow painting beige walls and trim eight hours a day, wearing the same paint-spattered clothes all the time and listening to scratchy tapes invites silliness, practical jokes, mayhem and fast friendships (and bad paint jobs). {i ate my first (of three in my life!) pot brownie on the paint crew. it had no effect on me other than to make me giggle hysterically for about ten minutes.} after a day of physical work and silliness, and of breathing paint fumes, riding my bike ride down the hills and over to my house was perfect—cleansing and invigorating.

in lund, i rode my crap bike everywhere sans helmet. (i don't remember anyone wearing helmets there.) when i arrived in lund, i learned that most people got their bikes at these bike auctions. almost all the bikes at the auctions were junky (and stolen i'm guessing). i had know idea which bike to bid on because one couldn't get up close to them or test them out, so i bid randomly. i think my orange, rusty junker cost about 40 bucks. it had one speed and was rough riding, but it had a comfy seat and a basket in front (important features!), and it got me around fine that year, over cobblestones and through snow and darkness.

what is my point? no point. just funny how memories rest in certain movements/actions. and it's time for new sf bike adventures!