Chapter 26: Race-ism and a New Hat

nerd blog post # neunundzwanzig

Yesterday morning, Cynthia and I went to meet the bike man. It was early, and she thought it was weird that I was leading her through back alleyways, to the backest of back alleyways, to meet Bernard. It was weird. The whole situation was weird. But far more interesting than dropping several hundred bones at the local sports store, Intersport.

I took the road bike, she got the mountain bike. Mine had a seat, but the tires need pumping. I'm riding it anyways, until I find a pump. My bike is named Le Super. It says it on the side. Twice. My summer bike was Matrix, and before that, Velosport. I think Le Super is the best yet. I rode Le Super to school and almost died several times. The problems were as follows:

1. It was my first time on a road bike. The brakes are down near my ankles and the handlebars are curved. What's up with road bikes? This was a huge adjustment.
2. Peeps in France drive at the speed of light, and don't go into the other lane when there's a biker beside them. So I was often inches away from a speedster in a Peugeot.
3. Cobblestones. I don't know what's harder -- cycling on cobblestone, or walking in stilettos on cobblestone. I think cycling. It's tricky.
4. Hills and windy roads and no gears.
After making it to campus in one piece, I taught my classes and half-rode, half-walked Le Super to Intersport. There, I bought a helmet. This is how that went down:

Hinckster looks at the many helmets, ranging from $15 to $150. She wonders if it will make a difference.
Man: Can I help you?
Me: Yes. What's the diff between all these helmets?
Man: Well.. These (point to the expensive ones) will make you more aerodynamic.
Me: I don't care about that. I just care about not dying.
Man: You don't race?
Me: No.
Man: Then why do you need a helmet?

Point: No one here wears helmets. Like, noooo ooooone. I bought the one for $15. I wore it home and for the entire evening, and to bed (it came off in the night due to neck pains). I love silly hats.

Also yesterday I went to the bookstore to buy my German books. It's right beside Pascal's cafe, so I know the owner there. I was happy to pay for my books, but Emanuelle told me that since I work for the university, I can take my receipt to my boss and it will be added to the next paycheck.. They really make it easy for us to study here! No one else really does, except Cynthia who is taking Arabic.

Last night we ate a delicious Mexican feast that I'd never tried before. It was amazing. Though I'll never tire of French food, it was nice to have some spice. Spice up your life. I had many Skype convos, too.

Today I wore my helmet and rode my bike. It's a 25 minute ride, but I think some of that will be shaved off when I get the tires pumped and have more confidence to zoom faster. When I could see the campus, I took off the dorky helmet. I told one of my classes that, and they all laughed. Then one student asked me if I race. No. I don't race. I just don't want to die because French peeps drive real fast! But whatevs.. Maybe I look like a racer as I zoom down the streets, my back and legs making a small obtuse angle, and my face fierce with the will to survive... Or maybe I look dorky. Point is, I'm happy to have Le Super. He may not be perfect, but he rolls like a pothead.

There's a meeting this afternoon for all of the staff of my department to meet each other, followed by a pot. Pots rule. Always food and booze. With over forty staff members, I haven't met everyone, and it will be nice.

I'm in my office right now. I have two office hours a week, and this is one of them. I've had two cute freen visitors so far. One brought me a coffee. Buying your way to an A? Or just into the heart of your teacher? Either way, it's cold in here and I love coffee.

Hope you're all doing well.

Love to you all,
Hincks.