Things Found in the Street – multi-modal commuting edition

Having a basement full of bikes found in the garbage can come in handy.

A few summers ago, I had to catch a flight at the airport. My wife was out of town (I was flying to meet her, actually) and I didn’t want to ask anyone to drive me because the flight was in the middle of a business day. I could have driven myself to the airport and left my car in long-term parking, but the cost would be high. A taxi would be expensive, too. Additionally, I was planning to drive home from my destination – if I left my car there it would require an additional trip back to get it.

My house is a bikeable distance to the airport, but what would I do with the bike while I was out of town?

I did a little research and I discovered that there is a bus that runs to the airport from a central location in the city to which my town is adjacent. That location is just a few miles from my house. The solution: ride a junker to the bus stop, leave it unlocked for whoever wants it, get on the bus and go to the airport!

I probably could have worked out the bus schedule and taken a city bus from my house to the second buss that went to the airport. Ah, that’s complicated and not nearly as fun as this plan.

I picked a step-through Huffy for the job. It was way too small for me, but I only had a few miles to go. I made it to the bus stop with plenty of time to spare. I left the bike unlocked and leaning against some parking meters across the street from the bus stop. I watched it for about a half an hour from across the street. People walked by, but no one paid any attention to the poor little Huffy. Eventually the bus came. I got on it and went to the airport.

I half expected to see the bike still sitting there when I rode by that spot a few weeks later. Of course it was gone.

I would do this again if I ever need to get to the airport. The supply of Huffys in the garbage doesn’t seem to be dwindling.