Somewhere between my seat on the bus up from DC and my friend John's apartment in Manhattan, the right half of the pair of my beloved new pearl izumi lobster claw winter bike gloves went missing.
This marks the second straight pair of gifted gloves from mom that were separated within 48 hours of receipt. The other pair, a birthday gift last year, lost Lefty after just one wearing somewhere in San Fran's Mission District. Those were just simple, black fleece ones from a drugstore. These were the finest REI has to offer and one of the nicest birthday gifts ever. Curses. What are the chances? Is there a single-glove-eating monster hiding in my shadow?
Only after retracing my steps from John's apartment all the way down Broadway to the metro stop 8 blocks away, after asking at the MTA's Lost and Found, after inquiring at a number of reception desks along Columbia's nearby campus, after e mailing Megabus with a desperate plea to search the top level of the bus (with a full description of all salient details as well as photos like this one, taken just yesterday), did John and his girlfriend and I give up and go out for Mexican food. A beer and veggie burrito bigger than my head were both delicious, but did little to comfort me.
After making a big pot of creamy hot chocolate for the three of us back at the apartment, I finally pulled myself together enough to call home and fess up. At least mom helped put things in perspective: "At least *you're* okay. They're just gloves." (Just gloves! I LOVED those gloves! But she's right. I guess that's why she's a good social worker.) Still, Burlington is going to be awfully cold with only one lined lobster claw this weekend....
Ah, Righty, we hardly knew ye!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Man! That stinks. After you posted I read some reviews and they look awesome (and pricey...) My hands are mostly staying warm, it's my toes I'm having issues with. I just got some over booties that are mostly wind blockers and my toes still get cold, although not the waxy yellow, nearing frostbite stage they were before.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you've got some good tricks on that front.
Keep up the good work.
Sean
Say it isn't so!
ReplyDeleteHey, wait a minute...that's THREE pairs of gifted gloves that have disappeared! Okay, so the first pair were technically on loan (and they weren't from your mother)...but I think they still count.
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible! I hate when I misplace anything, but especially winter clothes. I hope they mysteriously appear in your luggage.
ReplyDeleteNo sign of the glove. But my friend John gave me a similarly colored (but not similarly shaped) right hand glove, reminding me that in fact all serious cyclists these days KNOW that one should only wear the lobster-claw-style glove on the left hand, as the more traditional right-hand glove style is superior for shifting ease and, er, aerodynamics....
ReplyDeleteOh! And Meghan, I agree that I am responsible for the loss of elements of three pairs, but the pair you kindly loaned me were 10 hilly miles back in rural PA and had likely been run over about 30 trucks. I'm not excusing myself, I'm just explaining that it was a slightly different situation. (Nobody is ever going to trust me with gloves again! Luckily I've still managed to hang on to the beautiful, fingerless wool ones you made for me a year and a half ago. I'm almost scared to wear them now lest I lose one....)
ReplyDeleteYou obviously made the mistake of taking it off... Next time, you'll know better! Seriously... That sucks. I know how good a warm pair of gloves helps, especially during winter rides in torrential downpours of really cold rain and snow.
ReplyDeleteYes. Should I ever find myself in possession of a similarly nice pair of gloves in the future, I will be sure never to remove them from my hands. (It may make swimming and showering and cooking a bit awkward, but I'm sure it's worth it....)
ReplyDeleteOh, and Sean: my crazy triathalon friend said that the best way to keep your feet warm during winter riding is to 1) wear those over-shoe booties and 2) duct tape over the vented parts of the shoe to trap heat (and sweat) in. Me, I just wear double socks and have cold toes.