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Personal June 24, 2024 · 2 min read

Uber Misadventure

Rand Larsen
Rand Larsen
Founder, SMB Community · Writing from the van
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It’s funny how a routine airport run can turn into an episode worthy of an adventure reality show.

What started as a simple pre-dawn ride to catch my flight to Vegas turned into an impromptu obstacle course through the darkness of early morning suburbia—and a conveniently placed construction site.

Rand Larsen Uber Misadventure-2

Unexpected Detour

“Bit of an insane story. Our Uber broke down, we got a flat tire… I recorded onto my phone, trying to make light of the situation.”

Picture this: it’s 4:30 a.m., and the quiet morning darkness is rudely interrupted by the sound of a tire breaking down, basically saying “I’ve had enough.”

My Uber driver’s expression said it all—we were truly stranded. No jack, no tire iron, just questions running through my mind:

“Am I going to make my flight?”
“Did I leave myself enough time to get to the airport, check in, and board my 6 a.m. flight?”

“Should I just go home?”

With each passing minute, I thought to myself, “This is nowhere near the trip I thought Vegas would start out as.”

Great Escape

I thought so, but oh boy, was I about to be proven wrong.

With my flight’s boarding time ticking closer, I did what any desperate traveler would do—called a Lyft. Simple solution, right?

Well, that’s when the chaos ramped up a notch.

It was 4:20 a.m., and my flight was departing at 6:00, with boarding starting at 5:20.

I was really cutting it close.

Construction Site

Urban Wilderness

The GPS had other plans, routing my emergency Lyft to a nearby construction site. You ask, “What stood between me and my ride?”

“We have to hike down this because our new driver is going to be pulling up there, new challenge. The rock wall.

This is how it went down:

Me, luggage in tow, channeling my inner explorer through a makeshift jungle, racing against time to reach my Lyft and make my flight.

I forgot to mention—all while navigating a field of 6-foot-tall grass and a rocky trench obstacle course that even Bear Grylls would be proud of.

trecking through the bush

Video Gallery

Want to watch the full misadventure unfold in real-time, including my live commentary

Check out the full video on my X profile.

Morning to Remember

Looking back, it wasn’t the morning I planned, but it’s definitely become one of those life stories that gets better with each retelling.

Sometimes the best adventures are the ones you never signed up for.

After this morning’s chain of unfortunate events, I’ve made an executive decision: the Vegas slots can wait for another trip.

I think I’ve pushed my luck enough for one day.

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Article Info
TopicPersonal
DateJun 24, 2024
Read2 min
In this article
Unexpected DetourGreat EscapeUrban WildernessVideo GalleryMorning to Remember
Rand Larsen
Written by Rand Larsen
I run peer groups for SMB owners and host no-pitch meetups across North America — these days from a camper van. Come find the real version.
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