🚀 go-pugleaf

  I had a great time this morning Blading between Freedon Blvd and 
Downtown Santa Cruz, as I do about two to five times a week.  Have
gotten the roadways down pretty good, know where the major dangers
are, know which sections of road I like and hate, which hills have
to be delt with more carefully than others, what intersections have
the most maniacs at them in general.  
  
  I got up this morning (something which comes very hard to me!) 
decided I was going to skate downtown to work instead of taking the
bus, I flew down Freedom like a bat out of hell just like any other
time I would skate down the road, not really unerved by the autos 
(exept for the BIG trucks which have wind-pockets traveling with them)
and enjoying the feeling of my favorite past-time in life (next to 
sky-diving).

  I banked into Soquel Dr. at a pretty good clip and skated along on
fresh asphalt layed along the first section between Freedom and Rio
which is a very smooth surface due to it's recent installation.

  Carefully, making my way past the Soquel/Rio interesection (which 
gets nutsy now and again) I rolled on into Surf City Cafe to get a 
morning light-roast to enjoy with my skate.  

  Skating down Soquel again I switched the coffee from hand to hand 
as I half jounced it into my face from the skating and half sipped the
fresh-blend as best I could untill it cooled some.

  Now I went down the hill which goes under the railroad track bridge 
and I banked a right at the little road which leads off to the right 
just before the 'subway' and re-joins with Soquel a short distance 
later at Valencia, where I crossed the rubbery surface over the tracks
and continued over to the next small hill which curves onto a bridge.
And easy little hill if there are no bicyclists coming on the wronge
side of the road (there isn't room for creatures to pass safely on the
bridge if there is traffic), usually it is alright though, today it was
fine and I passed a pedestrian on his left at the far end of the bridge
who was walking briskly along after yelling ahead to him that I was 
going by on his left.  A little social protocol I picked up for
purposes of general safety.
  
  Halfway up the hill, I checked my mail.  Nothing, I talked to the 
mail people briefly as I took the oppertunity to enjoy my coffee while
standing still.  I have had my mailbox there for 3years now, and have
seen transition between two pleasent and social owners.  I looked over
and noticed the pet-shop in the little shopping center was closed
permenantly, no more feeder-fish there.

  Leaving the mailroom, I skated up the hill to Seacliff Dr with ease
and carried on toward Cabrillo College.  I enjoyed this section of 
Soquels mostly smooth surface and thought about school starting again
soon and how I can't wait to try my hand at another set of A's.  With-
out that annoying B this time though.

  I came to the hill which drops down to Cabrillo and flew past the 
bus stop and went up the next hill away from Cabrillo through some 
nicely sidewalk niehborhoods which line Soquel and accross the Park
intersection, it was a green light as I passed, a driver or two looked
at me with mild interest as they waited for there green light.  
  I sped on, taking an occassional sip of coffee (coffee was almost
gone now).

  Bolting along through some more nicely sidewalked neihborhoods, I 
came to the scariest of the hills which I go down.  I went to it with 
no hessitation, and when I was at a good clip I checked the right lane
and moved to it's center trusting a car would wait till I was at the 
bottom before attempting to pass, I actually had to slow down for a 
work truck with a wood-chipper attached which was conserving it's 
brakes by slowing early for the coming intersection.  
  Good driver, I thought to myself.
  Ofcourse I am going far to fast to stop at the light which is red 
a block from the bottom of the hill, and I bank a hard right into the
street before the light and bank another hard left into an alley which 
leads to the next block over.  
  This route has worked well for me, even when someone is pulling out
of one of the parking spaces toward me on that street, it isn't hard
to bank around them.

  I am in Soquel Village now, there are a bunch of cars lined up at 
the light on Old San Jose Road, and I cassually fly past them.

  A short wait at the light, and I am on my way up the next hill 
leading to 41st ave.  It is quite a hill, with little space to put
my feet or body to stay out of the traffic lanes as I make the 
grueling climb.  Eventually I make it, and I look forward to the 
worst section of Soquel for the Blader.  It is like skating on a 
pock-marked wash-board.  I am unable to use the gravity-lean method
of skating, so I revert to the old push-off method untill past the 
"rocky region" of Soquel.  
  My coffee is finished about the time I come to the second stop 
sign closest to the flea market.  I land it in a recepticle at the bus
stop their as I fly through.  
  Noticing the people begining to stand, I look behind, and see the bus
coming.  I skate faster, it is always a challenge for me to keep pace
with a bus.  Do it for fun.

  Now I am near Dominican Hospital, and the bus is still behind, all 
the bus-stops I go by, the people are beginning to stand.  The bus
remains in vissual distance behind me.  

  Going along the wierd sidewalk which boarders Dominican, I slow 
down for the Dominican Driveway, and move off the sidwalk putting my
hand behind me for the drivers to see, so they know to wait till I 
have crossed the driveway before yanking their car into it.  At the
same time, I struggle to make eye contact with and old man with a 
Caddilac pulling out of the same driveway.  
  Eye contact is made, and the man smiles at me, I smile back.  There
will be no collisions there today (it can be a nutsy driveway).

  I bolt down the Soquel and wait at the light to cross freeway 
intersection, I am finally able to go and I fly over the bridge, passing
an older lady who moved to the right when I yelled forward that I was
passing on her left.  We exchanged smiles.

  I carried on to the next hill, noticing people at bus-stops were 
still rising as I pass.  I was staying just ahead of the bus.  

  Came to the next hill, and again, without hesitation, bolted down it.
It is the hill leading down to where Capitola Road ends at Soquels Blvd.
  A very mellow hill, no worrisome streets to watch out for, a lot 
of space on the side of the road.  
  
  I came to the bottom at 30+ MPH and noticed the people at the bus
stop were still rising.  

  I glided onto the sidewalk and overtook some people walking three
abreast.  I dodged them, going briefly into the street around a 
tellephone pole and back on the sidewald ahead of them.  
  Apperently, a little kid who was in front of them yelled for them to
"look out" and didn't realize I had planned to give them wide berth.  
  The three of them jumped out of their skins as I past five feet to 
the left of them in the street and immediately began laughing amongst 
theirselves at having been so scared by a skater in the street who was
no-where near them.  I heard one of them say as I got ahead of the, 
"Man, he can sure climb a hill in those!".  
  I was going uphill at this point toward Fredrick St.

  Now, on the "final streach" as I think of it, I bolted down the wide
sidewalk toward Morrisey Blvd, jumping two streems of water which were 
flowing over the sidewalk, and worrying vaugly about cars flying out
of the blind driveways which litter this portion of Soquel.  

  Finally, I passed Safeway and flew down Water St. toward Ocean St. and
looking forward to my favorite hill of the bunch, the one just past 
DJ's mini mart on Water St.  

  It was a green light, but some ambitious fellow thought to take a right
just then, and I had to bank right as well.  The man in the car actually
slowed to look at me, and sinse I had his attention I motioned for him 
to get out of my way so I may cross the street.  He understood, and 
hit the gas to move on.  "An idiot", I thought to myself, "but at least
a friendly idiot".

  Now, I took off down the hill and possitioned my body in "fast mode" 
to enjoy the hill to it's most.  However, halfway down, at 30+ MPH, a 
psycopath decided to make a show of proving how big and bad his little
brown Toyota Truck was compared to me and made a swerve at me, before
I could think.  My middle fingers both went up at him.  

  The man drove his car into a parking lot where I had met a friend and
started talking to him, and immediately started mouthing off about
why I should be on the road with my skates and he should have run me off
the road completely instead of making a show of it.  
  I told him he had mental problems and should consider seeing a 
shrink, and offered to him the idea of using a different form of 
transportation untill such time as he might be safe driver having delt
with his problems.  
  He started getting out of his car to confront me, and considering
I have little experience with homicides I decided to bolt.  The man 
tried to throw his car in reverse at me as I began to leave, and 
***THANK GOD!!!!*** he stalled it in his efforts.  So he jumped out
and by some mirricle of nature and inbreed genetics, managed to catch 
up in a sprint and yank me to the ground spraining my wrist and giving
me road-rash along my left arm.  Luckily, my friend who I was talking 
to is a former HomeDork and is quite experienced in dealing with 
homicides, was there and managed to scare the psycopath off into leaving
(I should take classes from this guy).  I probably would have come out
of this little incident with far more injuries (if not dead) if my
friend hadn't been there.  
  I got up and went into work bleeding from several places having 
fallen on loose asphalt fair speeds.  

  Needless to say, I ended up having a pretty bad day.  Though it
started off really nice.  

  I am subscribing the The Bicyclist Terrorist now, I enrolled later
today in some classes to get certified in carrying Pepper-spray and 
I bought valve-stem removers.   
  And, for the rest of the day, wondered if it would be better just
to give up skating the way I love so much.  Decided against it, 
eventually.  My friends pointed out how misserable I was when it rained
all winter I could rarely get out on my blades.  They had a point, 
blading does something for me which really brings into clarity and
perspective many aspects of life.  

  If gives me a feeling of freedom I can't even get driving a car.

  I am pretty bent still, in the three years I have been skating in 
Santa Cruz, I have never come accross a real-live homicide like that.
Mostly just idiots who unwittingly put my life in danger, but never 
untill today a man who actually intended to do me harm.  

  I wish I had gotten his licence, he would be in jail right now if 
I did.  The bastard.

-- 
 /   Oddly brilliant eerie years..   -=|=-     timewarp@cruzio.com  \
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                   --------------------------------
                Spent many years working on myself...
              Time came, however..       For a vacation
                  And I began to work on my life.