I got on my bike on a lovely spring day and rode reluctantly into the city to an independent motorcycle accessory store. I’d seen on their website that they stock waterproof boot covers. My old rubber pull-on ones were torn, useless.
A salesperson asked me if I needed help, a tall guy, strongly built, maybe 40. He had what we’d call an ‘up attitude’, a general cheerfulness. I liked him immediately.
I said to him: “You know, it took me forever to get here. I didn’t realise how far it was, and entirely in unpleasant traffic. Do you ride to work?”
“I do,” he
