Funny how things Change

Back in the early 90s, I owned a Porsche 944. It was a really sweet and fun to drive little booger. The nineties were nothing like today, and driving around in a slick sports car didn't make me look like a dork. I was always out on the town and rarely seen without a lovely young lady along side. The vehicle, coupled with my ownership in a north side Chicago bar, seemed to score endless dates for me.

Looking back, I can hardly believe the person that I've become. I still own a car. (I guess you could call it that.)These days I'd much rather ride a bike than be caught dead in a Range Rover. My bar days are far behind me. (I still love booze, I just don't think bars are the most economical/practical places to get it.) I'm happy living a greener life. What's really ironic is, how much things have changed and just how many people still wish to live in the past.

Whenever I look at guy in a big ass SUV, I kind of get embarrassed for him. I'm riding along and some guy pulls up on a Harley and all I see is...dork. Who knew that the symbol of American Iron would someday be looked upon as quite revolting.

I read a really interesting post in the best of CL that made me look back on my past and smile:

Originally Posted: Mon, 20 Oct 15:38 PDT
Guys without Bikes - m4w

Date: 2008-10-20, 3:38PM PDT


I peruse the CL MCs on the man end over here and I have to say, is there any love for a guy NOT on a bike? It's often the only identifying factor left to describe the man with whom you ladies are so smitten.

"You: Red road bike with clipless pedals. Me: Cute brunette....etc."

"To the guy on the yellow fixie with...."

There's more. Hundreds and hundreds more. Seriously, it's not even effective anymore. There's like 500 hipster dudes out there with a yellow fixie, probably half of them on bart at any given time. If I threw a "Dudes with Yellow Fixie" party I'd probably have to rent out the Cow Palace to house them all. Your ad could turn up any one of them, although actually that probably doesn't bother you much. It seems you hardly even saw the dude, so transfixed as you were by his tats, skinny jeans, and that yellow fixie. Honestly, is this the new chick magnet? Has the red sports car of the 80's been replaced with the fixed wheel bike (not that the environment doesn't thank you)? Has the small, cute dog gone the way of the dodo for conversation starters? What will tiny, crappy dogs do if they're not getting dudes laid? Live in spoiled girls' purses only? How sad.

I'm just waiting for the ad that says "You slammed into me from behind, knocking my coffee onto my boss and my laptop onto the ground which now has a cracked screen - I don't know if I'll be able to get my work off of it yet - and then you rode off kicking up gravel into my face as I sank prostrate on my knees behind you trying to recover myself. You had the most amazing red fixed-wheel bike that zipped in and out of traffic, causing a minor accident in which a woman rear-ended an elderly man who still had the reflexes to stop before hitting you. If you want to get coffee, I'd love to meet you!"

I suppose I'm just hating. It's the Bay Area and that seems to be what you ladies are into. Just tell me, do I need to actually ride the bike or can I just carry it around so I can get noticed? Because I'm willing. Don't doubt it.

Funny how things change...