How is the strike affecting you?

There's my answer. For the past two days, that's the top conversation starter for everyone in Philly. The workers' union for SEPTA, the Philadelphia area public transit system, went on strike starting in the middle of Monday night, and put the whole city in slow motion. Up until yesterday I was ready to tell everyone how great the strike is working out for me. It has gotten me to finally ride my bike to work, which I should have been doing all this time. It is a relatively short ride to my Center City job, and by slowing myself down I've already discovered several little shops and restaurants to explore. Yesterday's trip to work was not so wonderful, however. I got in a fight...with the road. In my defense, the trolley tracks started it by reaching out and grabbing on to my front tire. As you can see, I am a little worse for the wear and my poor jeans suffered in the cross-fire.
Still, I consider myself lucky. I will take a few scrapes compared with the horror stories I've heard. My one coworker, Al, lives near me and now has to walk the 6 or 7 miles every day! There being no end in sight for the strike, here are some shots to keep the memories alive.