new guy sharing the office

Claire Petersky said:

Recently someone new was hired to share my office. It's like having a
roommate in college, only in some ways worse. You'll see your office
mate probably for longer during the day than you'll see your spouse,
and you hope that you'll be semi-compatible.

One of my worries was all the stuff related to bike commuting: having
clothes stored in the office; hanging up a dripping jacket and
putting wet gloves under the fan; "cooling down" upon arrival in
lyrca -- you know.
I didn't need to worry about this. He used to be a bike commuter and a
big-time cyclist as well as a tri-geek ironman type. A head-on with
an SUV on a descent on the RAMROD ride and 5 months in the hospital a
few years back left him unable to ride any more. (He says he could
probably manage a recumbent, but he's just hiking these days
instead.) So he's pretty tolerant of the little foibles that result
from riding in to work every day.
He has a bike gathering dust now that I might check out. Obviously,
it's not the one in RAMROD that was totalled. It's a Klein road bike,
made here the last year Klein didn't belong to Trek and production
went off to Wisconsin. (1994 or 1995? A Quantum Pro Ultegra I think)
Anyway, it's not like I'm in the market for a new bike, but it's the
right size, and there's not reason not to check it out, since he'd
probably let it go for cheap.

Well it wasn't a Penthouse letter like the Subject line suggested, but at
least it had some bike pron. :-P

On Sep 29, 2:46 pm, "Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

He has a bike gathering dust now that I might check out. Obviously, it's not
the one in RAMROD that was totalled. It's a Klein road bike, made here the
last year Klein didn't belong to Trek and production went off to Wisconsin.
(1994 or 1995? A Quantum Pro Ultegra I think) Anyway, it's not like I'm in
the market for a new bike, but it's the right size, and there's not reason
not to check it out, since he'd probably let it go for cheap.

I sold my old hybrid to my office mate who wanted to start commuting.
It really is a true test of that particular relationship; makes you
feel an ongoing responsibility for his success and safety. Hopefully
if your new associate sells you the Klein he'll feel the same way.

What you say about relationships with co-workers is one of life's
little hidden truths. It's a situation that's fraught with peril.

Fortunately, my office-mate and I are very like each other: cyclists,
musicians, parents of grown children, products of similar histories of
social and political activism.

r

Claire Petersky said:

Recently someone new was hired to share my office. It's like having a
roommate in college, only in some ways worse. You'll see your office mate
probably for longer during the day than you'll see your spouse, and you hope
that you'll be semi-compatible.

One of my worries was all the stuff related to bike commuting: having
clothes stored in the office; hanging up a dripping jacket and putting wet
gloves under the fan; "cooling down" upon arrival in lyrca -- you know.

I didn't need to worry about this. He used to be a bike commuter and a
big-time cyclist as well as a tri-geek ironman type. A head-on with an SUV
on a descent on the RAMROD ride and 5 months in the hospital a few years
back left him unable to ride any more. (He says he could probably manage a
recumbent, but he's just hiking these days instead.) So he's pretty tolerant
of the little foibles that result from riding in to work every day.

He has a bike gathering dust now that I might check out. Obviously, it's not
the one in RAMROD that was totalled. It's a Klein road bike, made here the
last year Klein didn't belong to Trek and production went off to Wisconsin.
(1994 or 1995? A Quantum Pro Ultegra I think) Anyway, it's not like I'm in
the market for a new bike, but it's the right size, and there's not reason
not to check it out, since he'd probably let it go for cheap.

Well at least he is a former cyclist. Check out the bike anyway. And
encourage the guy to get into cycling again (even if he has to ride a
recumbent) The more cyclist out there the better.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Claire Petersky said:

He has a bike gathering dust now that I might check out. Obviously, it's not
the one in RAMROD that was totalled. It's a Klein road bike, made here the
last year Klein didn't belong to Trek and production went off to Wisconsin.
(1994 or 1995? A Quantum Pro Ultegra I think) Anyway, it's not like I'm in
the market for a new bike, but it's the right size, and there's not reason
not to check it out, since he'd probably let it go for cheap.

Sometimes Destiny provides us with the stuff
we'll need, right before we need it. And
sometimes we're middlemen through whom blessings
are passed to their ultimate recipients.

It's a blessing for somebody, if not yourself.
Who are we to turn it down?
I suggest just going with the flow, and seeing
where it leads.

Maybe your new office neighbour will get to
ride it again. That'd be a blessing, too.

Actually, it might be interesting to document
and biograph a bicycle and its various guardians.
That would be such a Canadian, NFB thing, eh?
Atom Egoyan might be able to pull it off.

cheers & klahowya,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Just A User' Who? said:

...And encourage the guy to get into cycling again (even if he has to
ride a recumbent)

NO, not that horror!!!

[quote="Quoted message"] The more cyclist[s] out there the better.[/quote]

Recumbent riders do not count.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom.

--
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