How to have a grand debacle. Part First, and hopefully Last

For future reference, you cannot take a bicycle on MARC trains unless it is a folding one. Moby Dick [my bike] is many things; folding, he is not. Thus, on Wednesday after Wags & Em dropped Dan, Theresa, and me at BWI, the adventure began with denial at the ticket counter. Left with no other viable option, I used my U-lock and chain for the 1st time on the trip and left my brilliant white wonder locked up in the parking garage at the airport, then hopped on the train into DC and rode the Metro out to Bethesda, where the friend I'm staying with works.

I had left some luggage stowed away in a closet of the Metropolitan Methodist Church we stayed at Sunday and Monday so that I wouldn't be encumbered by it while executing the above portion of my trip. I had intended to go get my baggage Thursday am, but since I needed to retrieve Moby and my friend has a "real" job that requires her to be at work during the day, I spent the day getting my bike back to DC. I found a great bike route online and made my way back to the Greenbelt Metro Station. Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the station until 4:25, and bikes aren't allowed on the metro during peak hours: 4-7 pm. Luckily I'd had the foresight to look up the address of the closest REI, which was only 2 miles away, and I quickly passed the time there looking at tents, panniers, and other what-have-you. I talked to one of the employees for a long time about cycling ventures - he was a cool guy who wants to start his own non-profit to help a Bahamaian island he's been supporting. He hooked me up with some cycling maps for this region and also invited me to come hang out Friday night at the fire station (I guess he's a volunteer there). Sorry, Tom, but no. I don't date men over 40.

Needless to say, all that hassle prevented me from picking up my bags from the church on thursday. Thus, Friday around noon, I was a little worried to get the following e-mail forwarded to me from Ian:

"If you can contact Libby Left, one of the members of the team that recently
finished their trek to Washington, DC, and let her know that she left a
duffle bag, mat and bikes parts in one of our storage closets. We are not
aware of any arrangements to store these items here. Thankfully we found
them and someone knew to ask before disposing of these valuable items.
Please advise her that they are now in the church business office."

Yikes! I called the church and told them I was on my way. And by "on my way", I meant "I'll have to ride my bike 2 miles to the nearest metro, take it 40 minutes to the stop, ride a mile to the church, and then I'll be there!" Time constraint: 5 pm office closure, 4 pm metro ban on bikes. Time of arrival at the church: 3:42 pm. The office people were actually really nice and in response my profuse apologies for the trouble said it really was no trouble at all, they were just worried I needed my gear. Both of them looked at me quizically when I said I'd be taking it all back to the metro on my bike. The plan was to balance my duffel bag, sleeping bag and thermarest on the bar of my bike to take some of the wieght off my shoulder, and wheel back to the station. I was feeling a little stressed about getting there before 4 pm. Certainly hauling a bunch of gear for a mile is less than ideal, but it reminded me of the lengths to which we are willing to go when we don't have the normal amenities (like a car, for example). And fortunately, the church handyman said he'd give me a ride over there in the big ole church van (like the Silver Bullet and White Van, but older). I at least feigned a polite decline, even though internally I was jumping for joy. He again insisted. I agreed. And, by the time I got back up to Wheaton, 40 minutes away, my dear Ana was home from work, so she did me the kind courtesy of meeting me at the station to pick up my gear, and I cycled the 2 miles back home.

I really should go to bed, but the distraction of being around a computer with internet access is so great that I've been sucked into the vortex. Suffice it to say, I'm done with luggage and public transport. Tomorrow I'm trimming down my belongings and shipping the remainder home.