Chico state of mind...

My Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. water bottle jumped out of it's holder today. As it was happening I felt something crawling up my leg through half a pedal stroke. It was even empty - it was a hot day - so no reason it should have been bumped out - no real momentum - but these things happen, I guess - sometimes. It came to rest in the exact center of a fairly busy intersection - Monterey and Fair Oaks. But I couldn't just leave it there to die - to be the trash of the world - despite a rather dangerous retrieval. So I turned around and watched it from the sidewalk for a few sequences of traffic lights. Then, at just the right moment, shot out on the bike into the left hand turn lane, stopped, bent down to grab it, the light turned yellow and I turned left with the bottle in hand. Bottle saved. Sort of. It did get hit by a couple horseless carriages and won't be usable again but at least it will be able to hang out as souvenir in the bike shed. It was kinda on its last legs anyway, with a crack on the stem that leaked a little when full. So I guess I'll have to make another journey to the Northern California brewery sometime in the near future.