Tag Archives: Kalamazoo

A Minor (but Quite Annoying) Accident

So I’m on my way to Chicago to see a variety of bloggers (to see who, follow the updates over the next few days) and I stop in Kalamazoo (Michigan) for some gas. After I get off the highway, I’m driving along and the truck in front of me swerves and I see a tire hurtling towards my car. I swerved but it managed to clip my bicycle (which is on the back of the car) and and rip it off the rack and drag the bike for a little bit before I’m able to pull over.

It does turn out there is a Jeep minus a tire that I didn’t notice during my swerving, turns out it was out on a test drive from an auto repair shop. They said to bring them the bill for fixing the bicycle and the rack. They sent me to a local bike repair shop and the end result is they’ve done $90 in repairs and then decided that I should get the bike replaced and it’s 3 hours later and I’m still in K’zoo. Everyone is closed now, and the repair shop is closed for the weekend and I didn’t think to get a home number.

Arrgh!!!! Why do accidents happen on the way to places and not on the way home? Of course it could have been way worse but the point was I’m bringing the bike to Chicago for the purpose of biking. I would have taken the train otherwise, I love the train, the station is a mile from my house and I don’t have to worry about traffic or paying for parking, etc.

On a side note I’m in Bennigan’s right now, who has free WiFi (always a bonus) which I’ll keep in mind for the future, eating their delicious Guinness Glazed Chicken Stir Fry. Yummy food and the ability to access the ‘net always helps!

This was supposed to be a nice relaxing weekend and now I’m pretty cranky and stressed now. And did I mention that that I’m three hours behind schedule now? I’ll be better tomorrow, I’m just venting for now and telling you about the exciting part of my day. Now to decide how much further I should drive tonight…

Quick Trip

So I had a quick (less than 24 hours) trip to Kalamazoo, it was supposed to be longer but it got cut short (hmmm… I never mentioned that my sick grandfather passed away last weekend, did I?). I’m liking K’zoo more and more. It started off great in that I took the train and I love the train; so easy, so cheap. I got a great room, they were full or they liked my smile or something but it was a nice suite for the same price as the other people at the conference. When I say “nice” I mean the bedroom was bigger than most hotel rooms, the living room was bigger and they kitchen had a dishwasher, I had a couch, seven chairs, three phones and a gazillion lamps. And wired high-speed Internet! (thanks to my airport express) I (and my neighbors) had wireless Internet access. The city has some lights set up but by the time I checked in it was pouring outside (which later must have turned to ice which closed the schools). The snow looked great this morning, I wish I could have checked them out in the dark with the snow. Last time I was there we went to the museum and the planetarium and the very nice (new) library. BTW, the session at the conference was very good, so it was a successful trip.