Riding home in the dark

On a bicycle. It's somewhere around 10:30 PM. I stop at a light ('cause it's red, that's why) and look around. I'm by the mall, and it's still another 4 miles to home... about... It's 7 miles total trip... a little under... anyway. Another bike pulls up a little behind me. I look back at her, and she's wearing a headlamp like me. Different brand, but that's all one. I think it's kinda funny, since bicyclists usually have lights on their bikes and not on their heads, though that's what I prefer. So I say hello. She smiles and says hello back to me. I thought of saying nice headlamp, but I also wanted a better conversation starter. Besides, how easy is it to start a conversation with someone while riding a bike? I know, right? Hard. That's almost as bad as trying to talk to someone riding in a different car. Someone you've never met before, I mean.

Oddly enough, that one has happened to me before. But we were in my friend's Mustang Convertible; much more of a conversation starter when you're on the main drag. I digress...

The light turns green, and we both go on our way. I accelerate faster, since I think she stayed in a high gear (I shift down at lights). A mile or so later, however, she passes me. K. That's cool. I caught up to her a couple of lights later. Right as it's turning green again. So I say hello again as I pass (not just hello, but hello again, get it?) and she chuckles at me. Down the hill I go. Another mile or so. By now I'm sure she's turned off onto whatever street she lives on, when she passes me again. This time she looks back and flashes me a grin. Kind of a nyah nyah, I passed you again mixed with a isn't it funny we keep passing each other? I thought so. But as I speed up a bit to catch up to her, she pulls out to make a left turn at the next light, and I still have to go straight for another 8 blocks. So I yell out have a good evening, and she looks back, but I can't read the expression.

And I go home.

The whole time, I tell myself I should have tried for some kind of conversation. I had even been thinking to myself that it would be a long ride home and wouldn't it be nice to have someone to talk to. I even took the busier route home instead of the long dark one because it seemed to speak conversation to me.

So to the mystery girl (whatever your name is): Thanks riding with me part of the way, and I'm sorry I never said more than 3 words to you; you're cute and you seem from our exceptionally brief interaction to be cool.

And since the show I'm doing is running all the way to August 1st, maybe one of these nights I'll see her riding again, and maybe I'll have to guts to strike up a conversation instead of leaving them at home in that jar on the mantel.

Ew.

LB