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Spare the Air

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It's rare that it gets hot here. After all, the Mark Twain quote has been proven time and again by the hapless tourists halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge: their shorts betraying the fact they thought this was California, and their overpriced fleece sweatshirts emblazoned with "SF" giving away their acquiescence to the cold fog. However, on occasion, the fog takes a vacation, and the mercury climbs. When that happens, valleys quickly produce smog, making it unhealthy to breather. Hence, the government calls for a Spare The Air day: all public transit is declared free, so that less people will drive, keeping smog down.


This year, the three Spare the Air days were already used up in June, unseasonably. Then, the heat wave hit: last week, we have been breaking records. As I write this, it's triple digits within 10 miles of here: unheard of. So, three more Spare the Air days were declared last week. And the ferries were PACKED: tourists, who used it as an excuse to see the Bay for free, along with kids groups, and more. Man, what a circus. Since I was riding the bike, not much of a problem, but still! At least the scenery cooperated: nothing like the Golden Gate on a Spare The Air Day. :-)

Now you see why I cut my hair? ;-)

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