This is a a story about Saturday garage sales from two different points of view.
Let me set the scene for view number one:
You are in your car with a friend, anxious to get out there and find the gems that people have decided to throw out as trash. Don’t they know what treasures they have? What are they thinking? It’s 9am and some cars have already started swarming and people are browsing through the tables of clothes. You woke up late and are now shopping behind the regular garage sale ninjas who clean up all the good stuff, leaving behind in their wake the not so great finds. They drive up in vans, run out in hordes and grab things up in armfuls and then drive down to the next sale and repeat. But you are up and ready to go. That’s something right? And maybe, just maybe, they missed something.
Hoping to find the one garage sale that has it all, you pass up some after surveying their goods from the car, and decide it’s not worth your time. Perseverance will pay in the end so you keep going until you hit the mecca. They have baby clothes (always a commodity),toys, furniture, shoes and antique looking dishes. This is the one! But you can’t find a parking space. Everyone from neighborhoods all over have found your pot of gold before you. Between car doors that are ajar, people meandering across the street from their lucky parking spaces, heavy furniture being loaded into their trucks, you see someone get into their car and start it up. Finally! In order to get in the spot you need to back up, but your eyes are on the playpen that you saw in Target just the other day. You backup, and take your spot and you have now arrived at the garage sale of the century!
Now the scene for view number two:
You throw on some work out clothes and grab your cycling shoes and helmet, get dressed and head out the door. After checking out your bike to make sure the tires all aired up and moving parts are in good working order, you clip in and start your ride. The alarm went off at 6:30 but really? It’s a Saturday. Who does this? The sun is out and its getting warm, but the wind is pretty strong this morning, generating a cooling breeze as long as you keep moving. Riding at a good pace you see some cars gathered by a garage sale but most are looking where they are going and you easily pass by. One woman even sees you as she crosses the road and waves and bids you a good morning. Animals are even out, including dogs and even a squirrel who freezes in your path when you roll up to him. He looks terrified and refuses to move. You can keep going and run over a squirrel on a bike, but again, who does this? So you choose to swerve around him. He chatters angrily at you, but is still in the same spot.
Your watch chimes at you, telling you that its getting late, telling you to head home, but there’s one more street to go down before you get there. After turning a corner you come upon a scene that’s a cyclists worst nightmare. Cars are swarming around a house where a garage sale has sprouted up that wasn’t there on your last lap. Every available parking space is full on both sides of the street, making it hard for a single car to get through. You slow down as you try to figure out how to handle this. People are milling about, filling up the slim pathway that’s left to drive through. As you get closer, a car door opens suddenly and you are barely able to swerve around it to avoid crashing. The people didn’t even see you almost bite it. Your heart starts beating fast. Even getting off the bike and walking it is dangerous at this point. Clips are great but getting out of them safely with all the commotion is scary, so you decide to keep going. Then, just as you are about to get through it all, a car decides at the last minute to backup and heads right for you. This is it. The mecca garage sale will be the last thing you see. There is no way to avoid this. But an angel must be looking out for you because a man who’s crossing the street sees you, the invisible person on a bike that no one else can see. He puts his hand up and yells at the driver who thankfully sees him and stops. When the driver sees what was about to have occurred they apologize profusely. You’re just happy to be alive.
I’ve been in a similar situation before. I’ll admit. I used to be a super garage saler before, when I was young. One of my favorite things to do was go with my grandmother, so I know what its like to find that diamond in the rough. How exciting the hunt is and how your focus becomes tunnel vision between you and that item you see from afar. I never thought for one minute about looking around for cyclists. Now that I am a cyclist I can see the situation from both sides. Please, when you are out hunting those treasures, be aware of what’s around you. The treasure will still be there after you safely park your car. Unless of course the garage sale ninjas beat you to it.
