Friday night gang bang.

Last night was Critical Mass and if there ever was a time that I needed to get out and just ride for a while, it was last night.  Like I'd mentioned before, I've come to look forward to the last Friday of the month.  This evening was no different.  

I'd been feeling kinda down and was starting to get on my own nerves.  By 4 o'clock, I knew that I would be going out to ride.  My friend, Rich invited John and I to dinner at his place and while I normally would pick an evening with him, I declined instead opting for the night bicycle ride.  

A bit after 7, I joined the group of people riding past our building towards the park.  It was turning into a wonderful evening; not too hot and just a small amount of humidity.  At the fountain at Balboa Park, there was a local band performing.  The large group of people--all with their bikes, were sitting and standing around; drinking beers, talking, smoking and riding their bikes in circles.  By 8 o'clock, we were ready to ride, this time choosing the downtown path.   While the group didn't appear to be as large as last month, there was still quite a number of cyclists zipping down Fourth Avenue towards downtown.  

We rode through downtown then over to Little Italy, where the sidewalks were lined with people out for the evening.  Of course, we were a sight to see and a few people snapped photos as over 500 people--all on bicycles whizzed by.  The collective lingered in Little Italy while we waited for the other half of the group to catch up and only then did we begin to track up this steep hill from Little Italy towards the neighborhood of Bankers Hill.  By then, I was drenched in sweat, the threadbare shirt and skinny jeans that I had on, damn near soaked.   

The trip through Bankers Hill was brief and before I knew it we were back in Hillcrest.  But rather than cross University Avenue towards other uptown neighborhoods, we instead headed back west--only this time towards Mission Hills.  Screaming loud, ringing bells & whistles, we zipped through Mission Hills and back down towards downtown. 

We basically came down the hill that we'd agonized over in Bankers Hill--only now we were on the other side!   Nevertheless, we pressed on until eventually we were back downtown.  

I didn't talk to too many people during the ride, instead choosing to crank up my iPod.  I was feeling completely mellow, perhaps because of the pot that I'd smoked before I left the house or maybe the pot that I stopped and smoked while on the ride.  Either way, I was in a good mood and for once was able to think about something other than the shambles that my life has turned into.