after work I decided to ride straight home
I had daylight... but I did not have any desire
my body is depleted... work is really dragging me down
I needed to get home to get a hug from my boys more than I needed to spin on the bike
so... on the bike headed for home with the camera dangling around my neck
as I approached Dupont Circle I saw my old friend Scotty
yes... the same Scotty that may have saved Obama
yes... the same Scotty that may have saved the world
I looped on the road around the circle while Scotty bisected the circle by cutting across and through the middle
as I waited for Scotty to exit the circle on the cross walk feeding onto Connecticut Avenue I saw Tar
Tar passed Scotty in between the pedestrian traffic
off the curb... over the median... on the crosswalk... then launching an air too close for the camera to capture
I exchanged hellos and snapped some shots of Scotty that did not come out because my attention was on the rapidly departing Tar
I explained to Scotty that I wanted to snap a shot of Tar
we jumped into pursuit mode
ah... fast traffic on Q Street at Rush Hour!
Scotty and I rolled up on Tar stuck at a red light
the light turned green and Tar and I exchanged hellos as I fiddled with my camera
I rode along side of Tar as he wheelied his way up Conn Ave
parked cars and store fronts as the backdrop
Tar's balance and control on one wheel out matched my balance and control on two wheels with one hand on the handlebars
I tried to keep it together as I snapped a few shots
trying to keep Tar in the frame
trying not to crash my bicycle
SHIT! I could see that my settings on the camera were off.... the initial images were blown out... on the move I tried to correct things... then things were coming out too dark... the camera settings were still set for the night shots of the previous evening
all very tough to correct while on the move with full finger gloves pressing the small buttons and dials
I managed to get a few shots... but I did not feel as I had capture the action shot I wanted
Tar went up 19th while Scotty and I continued on Connecticut
we shared our excitement for what we had witnessed
it was as if each had the same shooting star
I peeled off Conn. Ave onto Columbia Road headed back to Adams Morgan
anticipating if I picked up the pace I could intercept Tar
sure enough... there he was... I got on his tail
we exchanged hellos as I fiddled with the dials
admitting to Tar that I had not gotten the shot I wanted because of the settings on the camera
again I fiddled with the camera... trying to get the setting to somewhere where they will capture what I am seeing
down Mount Pleasant Street I rode in the wrong lane head on into traffic so that I could get far enough away to capture the action
splitting the head on cars to the left rather than the center lane
then getting back on task after I passed the cars
snap went the shutter
even with the preview turned off I knew I was getting the shots I was looking for
excitement grew
like a fisherman with the big fish on the hook I started to reel things in
Tar calmly rode his bike on one wheel... then put the wheel down... only to coil like a snake and launch into the air
something awesome to watch
something amazing to see
something so hard appearing to happen so easily
something that is not so easy to catch on film
luckily Tar was in a playful mood and shared his talents with the camera
multiple moves allowed for multiple photo attemps
inspirational.
I shared the information with Tar about DCCX this Sunday then peeled off towards home
