Life in the Fast Lane March 29, 2014
The guys have left on a jet plane - back to Chicago. And Bruce and I have spent a low-key day, doing more exploring of Barcelona, locating the bus station for our early departure for Madrid tomorrow - and writing another blog post, this one an account, in more detail, of our segway adventure back in Malaga.
Before their arrival, I had pulled together a bunch of brochures for Matt and Izik to peruse, things that I thought might interest them, including a segway tour. It turns out that they were interested in the segways. And not wanting to be old fogies, we agreed to join them!
It took a bit of looking and consulting with a big, blonde, kind Australian bicycle renter to find the segway operation, tucked into a storefront on a narrow side street. Our guide for the adventure was Laura, who sells real estate during the week and runs segway tours on Sunday "for extra money and because I love it". She was slim, smart, pretty, in her late 20's, and wants to come to the USA to ride a motorcyle on Route 66 from Chicago to LA! (Maybe not so smart :).
I was pleased to see that helmets and bright orange vests were part of the gear that Laura provided for us. She also assured us that she would teach us how to ride the segways right there in the alley and that we wouldn't begin until we felt comfortable. "Hm, right!" I thought. "It's easy," claimed both Laura and Matt, who had used segways one summer when he worked for the Scarboro police. They both certainly made it look easy! Bruce, too, quickly became comfortable zooming up and down the alley. For me and Izik, it was not so "intuitive" as described. I leaned forward too much, especially when intent on stopping, just the opposite of what I was supposed to do. Turning didn't come naturally either, but, with a bit of practice, I did feel some improvement - and I didn't want to hold up the group.
Laura took the lead as we lined up to begin, positioning me right behind her for safe-keeping. Luckily, it was just the four of us, and with that, Laura had her hands full, keeping an eye on the two cocky riders, lest they bump into a pedestrian, as well as the timid riders, lest they fall off the sidewalk or into an open stairwell leading underground. Very reminiscent of leading a gaggle of kindergarteners! Trying to get us all across a busy intersection in the short amount of time alloted, with traffic waiting impatiently, was a real challenge. She had taken hold of my handlebars and guided me across; Izik wasn't taking any chances and had left his spot in the rear to rush safely across. Ironically, it was Matt and Bruce who were caught in crosswalk limbo, after the light had changed. Laura held back the revving motorists, and Matt and Bruce got successfully across. It had taken all of my concentration to just stay in one spot on the sloping sidewalk, so I had missed the excitement, thankfully.
After that, we seemed to go along fairly smoothly, past the harbor filled with expensive sailboats on one side and outdoor tables of tapas restos on the other. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the guys were wearing shorts. I wanted to take off my sweater and also to take photos - both entirely out of the question with both hands clenching the handlebars!
Soon we were breezing along the beachfront of Malagueta, weaving in and out among pedestrians. "The little kids are the most dangerous", warned Laura - and that was my fear: knocking over a toddler or an elderly person. I had flashbacks of Bruce's collision with dogs in 1999, resulting in a broken hip. Despite these thoughts, I relaxed a bit and began to enjoy this new way of moving.
Once out of the congested area, we found a place to stop and get off the machines for a few minutes. Our feet had been doing the brunt of the work in steering (probably incorrectly) and they needed a rest.
The trip back was more comfortable. No traffic problems and no collisions - until the last moment when I crashed into a wire fence, gently and without consequence. It had been a new experience for all of us except Matt, and we were all feeling quite pleased about it. Laura had taken good care of us, and her USA fund received a boost from us that day!
Tomorrow we head to Madrid and then to northwest Spain, to Santiago and Ferrol. Our plan is to hike 65 miles of the Camino de Santiago, beginning in Ferrol and ending in Santiago. This is the ancient pilgrimage, walked by pilgrims for a thousand years. There are trails from everywhere in Europe, all leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The trail that we will take is one of the shortest and runs due south from Ferrol. Ironically, it's called "the English trail" because it's closest to England and is the one traditionally used by English pilgrims. We will leave most of our stuff with Andrea in Madrid - and will be incommunicado for a week or so. When we return to Madrid, it will be nearly time to hop a plane back to Maine on April 15. Hopefully, we'll get out a post about the hike before that. In the meantime, for a bit of a change in voice and perspective, Izik may write about our time together in Barcelona (which was great fun)!
Before their arrival, I had pulled together a bunch of brochures for Matt and Izik to peruse, things that I thought might interest them, including a segway tour. It turns out that they were interested in the segways. And not wanting to be old fogies, we agreed to join them!
It took a bit of looking and consulting with a big, blonde, kind Australian bicycle renter to find the segway operation, tucked into a storefront on a narrow side street. Our guide for the adventure was Laura, who sells real estate during the week and runs segway tours on Sunday "for extra money and because I love it". She was slim, smart, pretty, in her late 20's, and wants to come to the USA to ride a motorcyle on Route 66 from Chicago to LA! (Maybe not so smart :).
I was pleased to see that helmets and bright orange vests were part of the gear that Laura provided for us. She also assured us that she would teach us how to ride the segways right there in the alley and that we wouldn't begin until we felt comfortable. "Hm, right!" I thought. "It's easy," claimed both Laura and Matt, who had used segways one summer when he worked for the Scarboro police. They both certainly made it look easy! Bruce, too, quickly became comfortable zooming up and down the alley. For me and Izik, it was not so "intuitive" as described. I leaned forward too much, especially when intent on stopping, just the opposite of what I was supposed to do. Turning didn't come naturally either, but, with a bit of practice, I did feel some improvement - and I didn't want to hold up the group.
Laura took the lead as we lined up to begin, positioning me right behind her for safe-keeping. Luckily, it was just the four of us, and with that, Laura had her hands full, keeping an eye on the two cocky riders, lest they bump into a pedestrian, as well as the timid riders, lest they fall off the sidewalk or into an open stairwell leading underground. Very reminiscent of leading a gaggle of kindergarteners! Trying to get us all across a busy intersection in the short amount of time alloted, with traffic waiting impatiently, was a real challenge. She had taken hold of my handlebars and guided me across; Izik wasn't taking any chances and had left his spot in the rear to rush safely across. Ironically, it was Matt and Bruce who were caught in crosswalk limbo, after the light had changed. Laura held back the revving motorists, and Matt and Bruce got successfully across. It had taken all of my concentration to just stay in one spot on the sloping sidewalk, so I had missed the excitement, thankfully.
After that, we seemed to go along fairly smoothly, past the harbor filled with expensive sailboats on one side and outdoor tables of tapas restos on the other. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the guys were wearing shorts. I wanted to take off my sweater and also to take photos - both entirely out of the question with both hands clenching the handlebars!
The water on one side ... and restos on the other.
Soon we were breezing along the beachfront of Malagueta, weaving in and out among pedestrians. "The little kids are the most dangerous", warned Laura - and that was my fear: knocking over a toddler or an elderly person. I had flashbacks of Bruce's collision with dogs in 1999, resulting in a broken hip. Despite these thoughts, I relaxed a bit and began to enjoy this new way of moving.
Once out of the congested area, we found a place to stop and get off the machines for a few minutes. Our feet had been doing the brunt of the work in steering (probably incorrectly) and they needed a rest.
The trip back was more comfortable. No traffic problems and no collisions - until the last moment when I crashed into a wire fence, gently and without consequence. It had been a new experience for all of us except Matt, and we were all feeling quite pleased about it. Laura had taken good care of us, and her USA fund received a boost from us that day!
Tomorrow we head to Madrid and then to northwest Spain, to Santiago and Ferrol. Our plan is to hike 65 miles of the Camino de Santiago, beginning in Ferrol and ending in Santiago. This is the ancient pilgrimage, walked by pilgrims for a thousand years. There are trails from everywhere in Europe, all leading to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The trail that we will take is one of the shortest and runs due south from Ferrol. Ironically, it's called "the English trail" because it's closest to England and is the one traditionally used by English pilgrims. We will leave most of our stuff with Andrea in Madrid - and will be incommunicado for a week or so. When we return to Madrid, it will be nearly time to hop a plane back to Maine on April 15. Hopefully, we'll get out a post about the hike before that. In the meantime, for a bit of a change in voice and perspective, Izik may write about our time together in Barcelona (which was great fun)!
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