Friday, November 09, 2007

Friday’s Funday

Friday’s are special.

It all starts at the grocery store with my weekly 2 apple fritters and grande chai tea latte. They know me there. She said every window she saw this morning had frost on it. I said I didn’t need to scrape a thing to ride my bike today. I just blink occasionally to clear away the ice crystals.

From the store with latte in hand I roll against the traffic on the sidewalk. DON’T DO THIS. Riding against traffic, sidewalk or not, is a very good way to end up doing automobile undercarriage inspection.

One of the most common ways to accomplish that comes courtesy of the right turning motorist. So intent on the spacing of traffic to their left, they almost never check their right until they’ve started their turn. So it was that I came upon a crosswalk, green light, walk sign brightly beckoning, and I’m stopped at the curb looking at the back of a driver's head.

I could have laid out a table setting on the hood of her SUV and been half way through my fritters before she knew what was happening…she also would have driven away with half my breakfast. Sometime it would be fun to ride in this dangerous manner with a helmet cam just to catch the instant when drivers realize they never ever, not once, checked to the right before making that turn.

This morning it would have been priceless.

I went long on the way home. I love this time of year because I love night riding. During summer I have to patiently wait for enveloping darkness. In November the darkness comes to me. I saw The Dad on his way home from work on his bike. A few minutes later I froze two deer with my helmet light...and that was an ultimate ending to a very good bicycling day.

2 comments:

Snakebite said...

It was discussed, last night, we need someone who lives conveniently in the country with a fire pit. Night rides ending up at a bonfire would be the shizzle.

SD_pedalpower said...

Word to the Snake!