Rearranging My Reasons to Ride

Date: 3 December 2010
Day of Chronicles: 20
Hours: 3:45-7:15pm
Rides Given: 5 

It seems that I have hit a sort of doldrums in my pedicabbing career: I'm no longer so new at it that simply getting a few rides is a thrill - and I'm not yet so skilled (or confident in my pricing) that I rake in delicious amounts of money every night. Frankly, I feel a bit daunted when I set a monetary goal higher than a hundred bucks. But then I feel like I'm copping out if I don't set a higher goal, given that this is the busiest time of the year. Perhaps if I raise my expectations more gradually I'll manage to take advantage of the bounty in the streets without driving myself batty. 

Another detractor from my store of enthusiasm may be the fact that I've affixed a plastic shield to my pedicab - to protect my passengers from the cold - the past couple nights. It may be that it makes the ride more attractive to some prospects, but it also makes it harder to carry on a conversation. Sometimes I don't feel like talking, but often I do, and not being able to prevents the sort of energy exchange that helps me get high on riding. My last two passengers, who flagged me down outside the Sheraton, actually asked me to remove the plastic, so they could see the sights better on their way to Rosie O'Grady's. (Note to self: When coming from the northwest, drop passengers for Rosie O'Grady's at the corner of 7th and 46th. Do not attempt to get them right to the door. You will end up taking the scenic route, and hitting yourself.) 

It may be also that something simply needs to change. I make the mistake, often, of expecting patterns that have served me for a while to continue to serve. In truth, I need to re-pattern fairly regularly, to keep myself jazzed. Maybe I need a new strategy, a new challenge, a new thought about what I'm doing out there in Midtown.

And now for the upbeat events of the evening: 

1. I was having some problems with my knees, so I've started standing up on the pedals when starting from a stop with passengers in the back. That has occasioned some serious rearranging of cells in my quadriceps - and seems to have relieved my knees of their difficulties. So no more worries about crippling myself for the cause. 

2. On my first turn past Penn Station, on the 8th Avenue side, the line minder told me to go ahead and hit the line - I'd probably get a ride, since it was very long at the time. What a wonderful thing, to be encouraged in my quixotic pursuit by a guardian of transportation orthodoxy! The line was indeed long and I did indeed get a ride - a spiffily dressed lady going to the London Hotel on 54th between 6th and 7th. When we got there she said, "You drive so carefully!" (Yes, she meant it as a compliment - and I took it as such. Safety first!) 

3. When I first started pedicabbing I felt that my tendency towards rule-following - my desire to do everything exactly right - was a hindrance, since the general bad-ass pedicab-driver attitude towards traffic laws seemed to be, "If they get in your way, break 'em." Now that the cops are handing out tickets like candy canes, I see the advantages of knowing the laws and obeying them. I actually seem to be getting over my ticket phobia, because I do feel that though capricious and crackdown ticketing does happen, I at least have some measure of control over whether I end up with love notes from the men in navy. 

So...that's the news from the trike lane: Where all the legs are strong, all the blinkers are working, and business - we hope - is about to rise above average.  

T+T+(Z+A)+P+Y