Bad Dream 213 -- Getting Home on a Bicycle, Maybe

 In my dream, I am living in Philadelphia and trying to get home.  I have a bicycle that has just been tuned up for my transportation.  (In my waking life, I do have a bicycle that's just been tuned up.)

It's nighttime and warm.  Traffic seems to be its normally busy self.  I'm north of Center City and my home is east of Broad Street down around Pine Street or thereabouts.  A neighborhood that I did, in fact, once live. 

I'm pedaling along a street, making progress and having the general feeling that I'm headed in the right direction.  I notice that, when I shift gears on my bike there's a considerable amount of chatter and some vibration as the chain moves in or out from gear to gear.  I'm surprised, as the chain moved quietly when shifting -- before I had the bike "tuned up."  I make a mental note to check with the bike shop the next day to make sure I'm doing things right or that the bike needs another trip to the shop for further adjustment.  

From time to time, as I ride from one street to the next, turning occasionally, I make a turn onto a road that I recognize and that gives me confidence that I'm moving in the right direction.  At other times, I'm riding through a very pleasant neighborhood that I don't recognize at all.  

So much of the dream, I'm riding through neighborhoods I recognize -- then don't -- then recognize again.  For whatever reason, I recall transversing Vine Street as a landmark and assuring me that I was moving in the right direction.  Doing this and trying to cope with a bicycle that was losing parts and becoming more difficult to operate as time went on.

At some point (south of Vine Street), I met up with a woman whom I guess was Deb simply because we knew each other deeply.  And she and I started moving towards home again.  I hopped on my bike, only to discover that the front tire was completely flat, making the bike -- finally -- completely unrideable.  

I wake up.

Reading over this to proof it, I recall a series of dreams I had years ago.  I would visit a bicycle shop -- I think in downtown Philadelphia -- and talk with the manager/owner about getting the perfect bicycle for me.  The shop was strictly repair business like -- no showroom, no line of new bicycles to choose from.  We decided on the right bike for me, which the manager/owner didn't have available but could order.  And after several visits, I purchased and rode away from the shop on my new bike. 
And my memory tells me that the bike was yellow.  Just like my real-life bike.