Back from Jax  It was a wet ride to the Jacksonville airport from Atlantic Beach, about a 25 mile trip that includes a ride across the St. Johns River aboard the Jean Ribault, the primary vessel of the St. Johns River Ferry Service. I waited until the last minute to decide whether or not to ride, thinking that I could always get a taxi. Maybe it was the optimist in me, or the fact that I hate to pay $50 for a taxi when I could be cycling; I thought that the rain would end and the ride would be relatively dry. It was just barely raining as I left, but by the time I got on the ferry the rain started up again. After I had ridden a couple of miles beyond the ferry, about 8 miles into the trip, there was a steady rain.

As with most rainy rides, the first few minutes were unpleasant. Once used to being wet, I could enjoy the ride, as long as I was pedaling hard. Since the temperature was about 55 degrees F, my hands started to get a little cold. By the time I arrived at the airport, 2 hours after leaving Atlantic Beach, I could hardly move them. It was difficult using the hex wrench to disassemble my Bike Friday. I wiped the bike dry, stuffed it into the suitcase, and paid a visit to the men's room to change and rinse my face. After checking in, the decaf latte and muffin never tasted so good. And I felt much better than had I taken the much less adventuresome taxi ride.

Back at Dulles I was first in line at the Metrobus stop to catch the 5A. There's almost no place to store luggage, despite the fact that 90 percent of the riders have at least one suitcase. People stumble down the aisles tripping over bags lined in front of passengers, after having waited forever for everyone to try to stuff their 3 dollar bills in the fare box. Welcome to the third world. I commiserated with a couple of tourists, trying to tell them not to judge the area by their first experience with public transit. I also encouraged others to write to WMATA to complain about the poor facilities.
posted by Bruce Wright at 10:54 PM #