Hideaki

Bad at First but Good at the End

I had two troubles and two nice experiences today.

The First Trouble

I went to a stadium. I was to see an American Football game with T. The stadium was located in the Southern bay area of San Francisco. I went there by bike. The bike trail was part of Bay Trail, a 600 km trail which surrounded entire bay area.

In the morning, I started cycling to the south. Unfortunately, the more I went south, the worse the atmosphere became. That’s why I was relieved to find policemen along the road. About an hour later, I came close to the stadium. It was at that moment when I encountered my first trouble today. I got a flat tire. It seemed that the bike went above a snail or something. The road was dirty. Fortunately enough, I made myself to the stadium. It was only 1km from the point.

The Game

I met T in front of the stadium. We went into the stadium. A ritual was held before the game. In fact, today was the first day of this season. We were astounded at the end of the ceremony, when jet fighters went right above us with big sound.

The game was exciting. He explained me what was happening in the game. His commentary was helpful. Without it, it was difficult for me to understand the game. He sometimes guessed the next move, and did it right many times.

Cheering was also exciting. The entire stadium cheered San Francisco 49ers enthusiastically. Sometimes, I even felt as if I were standing in front of Niagara Falls.

The Second Trouble

The second trouble hit me when I went back to home. I used Caltrain, which connected the south and the north of San Francisco. I knew that they allowed a bike. But I was forced to get off at the next station.

It was my mistake. I got on a wrong car. Right after the train started, a conductor came. He said that the car was not for bike riders. He continued that I was making a serious crime because I posed danger to other passengers. Even though I could not find a single passenger in that car, I did not speak against him. I knew that I was wrong. I moved to the deck. Then, I explained to him that this was my first trip by Caltrain and I did not do it on purpose. I also asked him what I could do next. He ordered me to get off the train and go to the other end of it, where a bike is accepted. I rushed to there on the platform at the next station. But the moment I grabbed the handrail, the train started to move. I was left on the platform.

Next train would not come for an hour. So, I gave up using train and started slowly with a flat-tired bike. I knew that it was me who made the mistake. But to be honest, my mind was not very calm at that moment. They could indicate the waiting position on the platform, if that position mattered to them that much. They could stress the serious crime that a bike rider could commit in their homepage.

I made a mistake. It might be more than the position to ride. Caltrain accepts a bike. But the fact does not have to mean that Caltrain welcomes it. If so, I should have studied their rule very carefully. I remembered BART and ferry people. They assisted kindly when I used their service for the first time. So, I simply assumed that San Francisco was kind to help bike travelers. But come to think of it, I can interpret this in different way. They were kind just to protect their business. For example, ferries are popular among tourists with rented-bikes, so it might harm some of their business if the company takes a hard line to them.

It may be dangerous to jump to the conclusion. But I feel that I can be more aware of the company’s interests whenever I get a service from them in the US. It may help me to know whether they may take care of my interest.

The Book Club

I had hard time, but finally, I came to home. I was in time for the book club gathering. My language partner kindly invited me to the gathering. The club was held in a house. We discussed while eating dinner. Today’s book was about Japan. The theme was about US military’s occupation policy after the World War II. It was surprising to find how well they knew Japan. The intellectual level was high. For me, only to catch up with the talk was hard. But in the end, I had an opportunity to speak something. They encouraged me warmly. I enjoyed the atmosphere. One of them told me that this kind of book club gatherings were not so special in San Francisco. How wonderful it is to keep interests in things other than leisure and job!

Today was the day of troubles. But it was also the day of experiences. The warm atmosphere in the book club remedied my feelings. The day was good at the end.

Posted by hfuruichi at September 12, 2004 11:59 PM | TrackBack