Another Misadventure in Transit

We had a little celebratory happy hour at work today so I bussed it instead of riding my bike. The happy hour was a good time, and as I left the office to catch my bus, I was in a good mood. Things got better still as I rounded the corner on 6th and Nicolet to see what I was certain was a 14C bus at the stop. Fantastic! No wait whatsoever. That never happens to me - I'm always the dork standing out there for 10 minutes waiting for the bus.

I hopped on, opened my newspaper, and was promptly whisked to St. Paul on the 94C.

Fuck.

I swear that some of the lights were burned out on the route sign on the front of the bus, converting that "94" into a "14". Or perhaps I simply willed myself into seeing a 14. We shall never know.

At any rate, I was blown significantly off course, and as luck would have it, I forgot my cell phone today as well, so I was kind of up a creek without a paddle. Left with only my wits and a bus pass, I hiked from the first stop in St. Paul (I-94 and Snelling) to Marshal and Fry street and waited for a west-bound bus that I hoped would take me down Lake Street to the point where I could get back on my usual 14 at Bloomington Ave. After waiting 15 minutes in the chilly wind, I was joined by a group of three Chinese students who had no idea when the next bus was coming either. Somebody in a silver car honked at me as I stood there with my collar up - if you are a Bike Lover or friend, be advised that I could have used a lift...

At any rate, my Chinese students and I, travelers joined by fate, finally boarded a west-bound 21 and that took us down the hill to MPLS. Despite a little language barrier, we all sort of made friends as they practiced their English on me and I coached them on how to get to the Mall of America via the Light Rail. We wished each other a safe journey as they headed south on the train and I continued on to Bloomington, only to wait again for a 14 and finally made it home after wasting a little over an hour on a transit tour of the Twin Cities.

Next happy hour, I am just going to ride my bike.