80's Chick, the Poacher and a beer review. Part 1

As a bike commuter, I get to see a lot of the same things over and over again on a daily basis. The same cracks and potholes in the asphalt, the same buildings, the same steady stream of traffic. But one thing that stands out are the other bike commuters and pedestrians I routinely see. After awhile, the same faces appear at around the same place, at around the same time, every day. On my commute, there are two people in particular that stand out...one who I don't see that often, and causes me grief, and the other I see quite regularly, and gives me quite a laugh.

The one that gives me grief, is another bike commuter that I've nicknamed "The Poacher". The first time I ran into him (not literally, mind you), was sometime this past spring. He caught up to me at a red light, commented on my fixie, and rode behind me down Baseline until he turned off at Prince of Wales. I saw him the next day, and the situation was almost the same. He caught up to me, and then rode behind me until his turnoff. Thing is, both of those times, he rode behind me for about 6 or 7 km, right on my wheel.

It was awhile before I saw him again. On one commute in the summer, I thought I heard something behind me, did a quick shoulder check, and lo and behold, there he was. He had crept up silently behind me, and then stuck to my wheel. This time around, I decided to accelerate a little and ride harder than I normally would for my commute, and he was right there with me the whole time. The thing that confirmed that he was indeed a poacher, was one day when I was passed by another bike commuter riding at a pretty good clip, and right on his ass...was the poacher! It's one thing to ride hard and get a workout from your commute, but to sit on on the wheel of other riders while they do the work? COME ON!!!! Another time, the poacher caught up to me, and I knew he was there, so I actually slowed the pace waaaaaaaaay down. And what did he do? He STILL kept riding on my ass!!!! Now THAT pissed me off! I'm not the confrontational type by any means, and I usually keep to myself, and that's what I ended up doing. I kept to myself and pedaled.

What I wanted to do, and should have done, is asked him (sarcastically) if he wouldn't mind doing some of the work himself. I haven't seen him for awhile now, but I've always got my eyes and ears open for him.
One thing that does crack my up about the poacher, is that no matter the weather, a nice spring morning or a hot start to a summer day, he is always dressed the same. Sweatpants and what looks like a hoodie, with the hood under his helmet, and a safety vest. Classic.

My next post I'll tell you about the other regular I see, "80's Chick". In the meantime, a long overdue beer review. I picked up a can of Fuller's ESB Champion Ale. A heavyweight, with 5.9% alcohol, it's "a full-flavoured, deep amber brew with full-bodied maltiness".* For a full description of the tasting notes, check the description here, which uses big phrases like "wonderful rich mahogany appearance" and "a smooth, mellow bitterness lingers on the palate". I was impressed with this beer, lots of flavour, and just downright tasty. Definitely gets my seal of approval!

*Description "borrowed" from LCBO Food and Drink magazine.

Mmmmmmmm, beer.