Tessa

It was COVID. People were distant, socially. Awkwardness and cough-shaming was on the rise; mental health declining. Supply chains shattered.

In Vancouver, not much was going on but public spaces were open¹ and beautiful in the summer. I got my stimulus cheque... it was the perfect time to get back into cycling. There was only one problem: no bikes!!!

So I wrote a bot that scraped Craigslist every 2 minutes for postings matching my criteria and notified me each time something new and relevant became available.

I was napping one sunday when I got the push notification. Within minutes I was in an EVO on my way to check out a 2014 Trek Madone with new mechanical Ultegra components. Satisfied, I sent the payment through, and we waited... Email after email came in with each refresh: "Is this still available?". I had a cheeky grin on my face, knowing I locked in a solid deal. Finally the payment went through and the seller commended me on my hustle and decisiveness and wished me the best of luck.

I named the bike Tessa, and she was the most responsive, quick, smooth bike I had owned so far. But the luck I was wished was in vain: after only a year of riding Tessa up the local mountains, what was poised to becoming an eternal bond between man and bike ended abruptly. I got t-boned by a Chevrolet Colorado and tore my MCL and PCL.

I should probably be dead right now instead of writing this post, so the fact that I'm not is arguably a big win. And on the bright side my right leg is now stronger than it's ever been owing to a great recovery. In many ways, life can suck, either all at once or just constantly over a prolonged period of time in a depressing sort of way. But thats why its vital to savor our little victories—the simple, successful bot I wrote, the good rides², and the great recovery I had.