Friday, July 10, 2009

Frustration, thy name is Caltrain

So I ran out to the garage this morning, took a few seconds to untangle the padlock and cable from the spokes (I wish people would be more careful), and reached for the garage door remote. Not there! At that point I should have just given up and decided to go to Menlo Park.

But nooooo... my "inner sloth" got the better of me (Redwood city is 2 miles, but Menlo Park is like 3½) so I found another remote and rode off. I had good luck with traffic lights, arriving at the barrier a full two minutes before the train was due to leave. (Actually my phone showed 7:27 -- what was the "southbound" train doing here so early??)

That was OK; there was plenty of time. Or there should have been.

The "northbound" train pulled into the station -- also early (by now it's 7:28), keeping the arms down. Drat it, the train is stopping here, why keep the arm down?

Oh, crap! The northbound driver drove the train past the station and right into the intersection! How long does it take him to shift gears?

OK, this has gotten too long. By the time he backed out of the intersection (this guy should be given another job) I missed the train. As the door closed, the conductor called out, "We're late! There's another one right behind us." Ah, no. The next train stops in Redwood City 43 minutes later. Five minutes after that I can catch one that also stops in Mountain View.

I locked my bike up anyway, and as the train pulled out, I yanked the phone out of my pocket. 7:30.

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