Last night I stayed in town late to go to a lecture with a friend and he took this photo from the other side of the tracks as we waited for the T to come so we could commute in opposite directions. So, here’s a glimpse of my commuting garb: fall coat, gray slip-on sneaks, black scarf. You can’t see my lime-green bag (which matches my other commuting shoes: lime-green & turqouise Kangaroo sneaks), but I have to maintain some mystery I suppose.
The off-peak commute presents a slew of new issues and characters. Like the bike riders. You cannot bring bikes on during peak hours, but you can off-peak. Let me tell you, it’s pretty funny to see. Well, not so much the average commuter with a bike, but last night I also saw a turbo-pobably-works-at-a-bike-shop bicyclist decked out in all the serious bicyclist gear. You know, the special shoes, neon spandex outfit including a shirt with pockets on the back for a water bottle etc (which he kept in the pocket while sitting on the train which just doesn’t seem comfy), a spandexy hat, and general bicyclist wildness. We know how much I love bicylists on the road…they are, perhaps, slightly more tolerable on the train. Mostly because they are not asking to be treated like trains and they are not actually cycling.
But the late commute is a little eerie since there are so few people involved (as evidenced by the above photograph–you don’t see that at peak commute). Plus in the pitch dark you can’t see stops and they don’t bother using the loud speaker so at some points you really have no idea where you are.
Therefore, the lesson learned here is to sit closer to the front of the car near the soft-spoken/dictionless conductor guy during an off-peak commute, otherwise you could find you’re on the midnight train going anywhere, or at least that you’ve gone past your stop.
Love the pic, you look so professional commuter-y! Super cute.