OK, I am a Very Superstitious Person. Especially as relates to all
things bike because this is an area like love, gambling and sea-voyages,
fraught with uncertainty, hazard and fear, and in the hands of
capricious gods.

Lately I have been so afraid of my impending job transfer to a site 10
kms away from my home (and connected need to commute by bike) that I
have been losing sleep. My balance is wonkier than usual due to
anxiety-related hyperventilation. The fear is such that I have developed
an aversion to my bikes. I ride in a panicky fashion and have problems
starting in traffic, which of course makes things only more dangerous. I
assuage myself by "allowing" myself to walk to work. There is no
enjoyment at all in cycling just now.

This is not helped by an ad campaign that is being insistently run on
French TV, in which paraplegics and tetraplegics and people with
amputations talk about the horrendous road accidents that ruined their
lives and made them into vegetables. And just to add to the burden of
synchronicity, I went to see a movie yesterday about the life of Cole
Porter which dealt, again, with the theme of his riding accident,
confinement to a wheelchair and leg amputation.

Everyone I speak to about commuting to work by bike thinks it is a crazy
idea and that I will be risking my life. There was even an issue as to
whether my work-insurance would cover me in the event of such an
accident.

I also mentioned that I was going to buy a Dahon folding bike of the
model Impulse P21. Well, I did it. Lovely little bike arrived today and
is sitting, still packed in its box, next to my desk.

I was hoping it would arrive today or tomorrow because the transiting
planets are quite well-placed in relation to my own natal chart.
However, there are two factors, the Moon placement and the
Ascendant/House Cusps, which depend on the _exact_ time and place of
birth and cannot be estimated just on the basis of the day.

I signed the delivery note for Flyzipper, for such is his name, at 11:55
am, and am taking that as the time of his "birth".

To my dismay, the chart cast for that time has the Moon sitting on the
worst degree of the whole zodiac - under the influence of an evil Fixed
Star called Scheat which just happens to symbolize extreme danger,
injury, violent - especially transport related - death, murder, suicide,
drowning, imprisonment and confinement.

However illogical it may seem to you, I know I will _NOT_ be able to get
on a bike with this Moon placement. I freak out at the very thought.

Moreover, my own natal chart makes everything worse. An exact
Pluto-Saturn square in the Third and Sixth houses suggests danger from
transport or some kind of incapacitation of mobility or neurological
deterioration. I live with that all the time - it is one reason I have
to get over so much fear in relation to bikes and scooters - but whether
I bike or not has no effect on the symbolism. I could be run over on the
sidewalk or develop rheumatoid arthritis. What upsets me especially is
the combination of symbolisms on my nativity and Flyzipper's.

But was Flyzipper really "born" when I signed the delivery note? It was
easy with Myrtille and Behemoth, since they were taken home from the
place I bought them and the birth time is simply the date-time stamp on
the sales slip. Since Flyzipper was ordered at distance from an Internet
dealer in the UK, I don't have such a sales slip.

I did open the box to make sure the right bike was in it, but as I said,
the bike is still packed. On the box it says in big letters:

"Attention"
"Before your first ride, you must have your bike thoroughly checked and
adjusted by a professional bicycle technician. This final adjustment
will activate your warranty and ensure that your bicycle is optimally
adjusted for safety and performance".

I phoned the dealers and they said my LBS-man should sign or stamp the
warranty when he has checked the bike and that this will be acceptable
as an "activation". I wonder if I can persuade myself that the bike will
not be "born" until that happens, or until I collect and pay for it
(presumably the LBS-man will charge a fee for the adjustments,
especially since I did not buy the bike from him). But every time I try
that it seems like intellectual dishonesty, cheating.

I don't suppose anyone else has this kind of problem. But if it does
mean something to you, when would you consider your bike "born"?

EFR
Ile de France