I left home for work at 5:30 this morning. It's trash day in Arlington, so I was naturally scanning the heaps of rubbish on the curb as I sped down Gray, when I spied two dusty old bikes standing gingerly among the trash and recycling just a couple blocks from the intersection with my street.
Closer inspection revealed one to be an early 1970s Phillips racer and the other was a late 70s ladies' Schwinn Suburban. Both were in great shape, with no rust or blemishes on the frames, but a heaping helping of dust and cobwebs all over.
I was late-ish for work, and still needed to shower and dress on arrival. So what to do? I grabbed the Phillips and hoofed it up the hill with it in one hand and Thorny in the other (which, in full commuting mode weighs about 40 lbs), then left it next to the house. I rode back down, but really didn't have time to do anything about the Schwinn.
So I sped off to Boston and emailed Kim to see if she'd collect it for me. All I really cared about, though, was saving it from the landfill. If someone else got it and would make use of it, fine - I've got enough "project" bikes festering away. But by the time she got there around 9, it was gone... but so was all the rubbish.
I'd like to think that someone saved it before the compactor came, but I don't think that happened. It was really, truly upsetting to think about that beautiful old upright ladies 10-speed getting thrown into the back of a garbage truck with the rest of the trash.
In retrospect, I could have moved the bike away from the trash, or even put it back into the driveway of the house, but it didn't occur to me. At least I saved the Phillips.
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