My CitiBike Commercial, But in Real Life on the Subway
So, the other day we're on the subway , and it's hot, and it's crowded, and suddenly our conversation turned into a commercial/ public service announcement, but like, if I were the creative director on that commercial, I would be fired for being lame and unoriginal, and for using too many stereotypes.
Here's how it went down:
Me: "It's so hot. This is the hottest summer in the history of time"
Stephan: "Speaking of hot, I meant to tell you, I tried Citibike the other day. It is so awesome to ride a bike in the city when it's hot."
Me: "Oh, was that the charge on the credit card? I was wondering about that."
Chinese lady sitting next to me; "That's the annual membership fee."
Me: "Ah, that makes sense. But…what about a helmet? Do they rent you a helmet? Now I'm worried."
African American guy next to Stephan: "I wondered that too, but I'm not really a bike person."
Me: "So….you're going to start carrying a helmet with you?"
Stephan: "It wouldn't be my first choice:"
Jewish guy on the other side of Stephan: "You should definitely wear a helmet. I'm an ER doctor, and we treat head injuries every single day "
Me: <stifled laughter>
Stephan: "Oh, all right."
Me: "Don't take it from me. Take it from the ER doctor!"
Chinese lady: "Bikes are dangerous. I would never ride one of those."
Stephan: "I was just saying how awesome the bike was. How did this turn into a Public Service Announcement where I am the subject?"
Annnnd…..scene. I think I would add, since I have a chronic worrying problem, the very first thing I thought when I heard about CitiBike was "OH MY GOD EVERYONE WILL CRASH SO MANY INJURIES SO MUCH LIABILITY AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" so I probably was not in the right frame of mind to be supportive of Stephan's enthusiasm for the bike. We have agreed to disagree, and he promises that if he chooses to ride the CitiBike without a helmet in the future (WHICH I REALLY HOPE HE DOES NOT CHOOSE TO DO BECAUSE I LOVE HIM), he will probably just go ahead and not tell me about it.
But seriously, it's so dangerous to drive a car in New York City. How did the "Citibike" program even get approved? Do you have to sign a 400 page waiver when you get on one of those things? I used to ride a bike in San Francisco, and eventually I gave it up because it was clear that doing so would eventually result in a car-related injury. I am much less coordinated than Stephan, so I would never even think of getting on a bike in New York City.
He said it was awesome, though. Apparently he's done it a couple of times since. Ask him about it!