May Commute Review
On this morning’s ride, I found myself reflecting on successes, failures, lessons learned so far for May.
Lesson #1 – Concentrate every moment and don’t be vain.
My vanity made me ride off the road one day. It was early morning on Wymore, no real traffic, and the sun coming up cast a really cool shadow of my on the grass. While looking at myself (angle of my back, ankel rotation, hand position, backpack-hump) I veered off to the right and onto the grass. Thankfully it was so dry and hard I came back up really easy. But I just knew I would be eating dirt any second.
Lesson #2 – Control your hand gestures. My wife would not agree, but I really do try to control my temper on the road. Rule #13, tonnage, says that even if you are right, you are the one going to the hospotal in an accident. But once an old beater pick-up truck with three or four painters riding in it cut me off as the raced around me. They made it about 20 feet before having to stop because of traffic. I had flipped the bird at them as they passed and now I had to ride up beside them becasue of the traffic. I didn’t. I stopped immediately and let traffic go before I rode on.
Lesson #3 – Shaking of the head and a stare down is the same as a hand gesture. I guess that’s why the Dodge Diesel Duallie I had shook my head at because he’s an idoit floored the gas and left me chocking on a full cloud of black smog. He’s still an idiot and I wave at him every day I see him (’cause I’m a nice guy).
Reflection #1 – I really like my route. I read LisaB’s route challenges and I know how hard it is to find a safe and direct way to ride to work. I had to tweak it a bit, but I was surprised at how many people helped me get around bad sections and redirecting the route. I feel safe and I am on good roads.
Reflection #2 – Guilty days. After four weeks of riding, I actually feel guilty when I drive to work. There are days I just have to. But when I do I am overlly aware of how much gas I am using, money I am spending, and frankly, I miss being on the bike.
Reflection #3 – I am old. By day three of my commute I really feel it in my legs and my recovery. I don’t know if I will go to four or five days a week. It is just too far and I am too old.
I feel guilty too, and am very conscious of the gas I use when I drive. That’s a new thing. I used to ride just because I loved to ride, now there’s this extra pressure to not have to put another $50 of gas in my car too soon. OTOH, it’s kinda fun to see how long I can make a tankfull last.