Asshat

5.3.2kX

Dunno if I told ya this one, so I'll tell ya now, and if it's a repeat, pls consider it merely a reminder, because I done had another brush with invisibility today!

Shortly after my Little Wife and I moved to HelL-A, we found it sometimes relaxing to ride bikes to the beach, lay out on towels, read mags and get some sun. Venice Beach has several dozen acres of wide-open beach, with many of the beach goers clustering by the water. We'd set up close to the water, but outside the cluster. We had vast sandy stretches all around us. Did it a couple times and it was fun.

One time we were laying there, reading mags, and I noticed a (really STOOPID) game of "Ultimate Frisbee" starting up about 1000 feet away. Yes, 1000 feet. Slowly but surely, the game got closer to us (I guess they had ever-moving scoring zones in this game - in most games I think they're fixed, as in football). So here we have us, on beach towels w/ a couple bikes nowhere near anyone else, and a stoopid game of ult.frisbee closing in. It got closer. And closer. Finally, when they were literally upon us (a missed pass landed on my foot), a lanky gal ran over, snagged the disc, wheeled and looked to pass but was covered by a player from the other team. This happened on top of us. I said, "You SEE us, don't you??" I don't know if she did, because she made her pass then bounded off. It was really weird.

I needn't remind you that, as a bicyclist, I'm used to a certain amount of invisibility, but not like the ulty frisbee game. I don't think anyone from either team saw us at all.

So I tell you that instance of invisibility because it happened again! I nearly got run over by a guy on a bike (who was on the goddamn sidewalk and crosswalk) when there was no way he couldn't have seen me. I was in the middle of an intersection. In the crosswalk. I see the burnout (I mentioned he was a total burnout tweaker, didn't I?) come off the sidewalk, into the crosswalk, and make a B-line for me. Sure, bikes are on collision-courses w/ people all the time, but they usually adjust and maneuver out of the way. This guy didn't. Not at the normal time. Or the last second. Or the last-last second. I dodged out of his way and yelled, "DOOOOOD!" and he snapped out of it, veered a little, said, "um saw .. " or some such shit. I called him a fuck head. He continued on. I couldn't believe it. It's not like I'm wearing camo or anything.

Tonight - House of Shields.

bye-ee!

whrr ... clik!