I usually like to space out my gratitudes, but I need to say nice things about Warm Planet Bikes again. Last week, I somehow managed to lose the claim slip for my bike. (I'm still not sure how - I'm really careful to zip it into an inner pocket of my messenger bag - but obviously something went wrong.) This past weekend I spent three hours searching my apartment for it, and more than forty-eight hours worrying about it.
This morning, my heart was in my throat when I got off the train and walked over to their shop. I always feel horrible in these situations, as my neurotic mindset and introversion bring my to an exquisitely painful state of awkwardness. As irrational as it sounds, I'm always afraid that the other person will yell at me and make me feel even worse. Honestly, for a lot of lost things (a jacket, say, or some cash), I would have just surrendered it rather than deal with the embarrassment. This is a bike, though, and not only would it cost hundreds of dollars to replace, but I wouldn't be able to stand replacing it twice within a year. So I beat myself into a state of apologetic assertiveness and marched in the door.
As always, it turns out that I needn't have worried. The clerk was really nice and didn't give me a hard time. I'm happier than ever with the folks at Warm Planet, and feel guiltier as well. I feel like such a freeloader! I wonder if people will give these guys holiday tips like people do for their hired help - if so, they can expect a handsome donation from me.
Final thought: I've wondered this from the beginning, but why "Warm Planet"? Isn't a warm planet bad, what with global warming and all? Won't increasing the number of bicycles help cut carbon emissions, thus COOLING the planet? Or is that the point, that we need to think about how warm the planet is and act accordingly? I don't know, I'm just happy to have them here.
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