With favorable weather, it is not hard to drop “important” items (like cleaning my house) and carve out some time on the bike. Mild temps in the high 60′s and little wind presents the perfect conditions for a nice, simple ride. I would have liked to stretch it out for a good 20+ miles, but the sun was against me and forced me to find a turn-around point and head for home while the sun was still above the horizon.
The low sun leads to some dangerous roads
For this ride, I set my computer to display the time of day and ignored the stats. This ride was all about the quiet of the road and witnessing the signs of fall as they begin to emerge. The roads were surprisingly barren of other riders and I don’t think I crossed paths with any other serious rider for the entire trip. Sure, I met the guy coming down the wrong side of the road on a direct collision course with me – but I don’t count him as a serious rider. Typically, Mondays are rider-free due to the scheduled recovery day (post-weekend) for triathletes and category riders, but Tuesdays are busy. I guess the season is truly winding down.
The details for this ride:
- Tuesday, September 22, 2009
- departure: 5:40pm
- duration: 0:55
- distance: 17.2 miles
- speed: 18.6 mph
- odometer: 1146
A little chill in the air resulted in my choice to wear arm-warmers
My Event Of Note™ (EON™) came in a near-death experience. The worst part of riding at sunset is the blinding light that forces car drivers to make risky decisions. Tonight, I was nearing the end of the ride (sun was low in the sky) and coming along a road that was perfectly aligned with the sun. I had the sun at my back and could see perfectly, but on-coming cars were looking directly into the glaring sunlight and were challenged to see me. I was moving steadily along – in a wide shoulder – and came upon an approach with a group of cars to my right waiting (properly) before turning onto the road in my direction. Another car came from my opposite direction and was signalling to turn left – which would cross my path and turn into the same road that other cars were waiting. In a normal situation, this new car would slow and wait for me to pass before making the lefthand turn. But, he couldn’t see me (or didn’t bother to look) and decided to make the turn JUST BEFORE I was to enter the same intersection.
Fortunately, I anticipated this stupid move and was on my brakes – avoiding the collision. The cars waiting saw what was happening and laid on their horns – notifying the left turn driver of his mistake. I did my usual “raise my hands with a shrug to indicate you are stupid” stance and rode through the intersection, narrowly missing the car. It was at that point that I recognized the driver – a father of one of my daughter’s friends from the Holy Name of Jesus elementary school.
I guess, if it’s your time to go, you might as well be “offed” by someone you know.
The Song Of The Ride™ (SOTR™) for this ride was a vast improvement from yesterday’s jazz theme. Today it was The Ramones and their song “I Wanna Be Sedated”. I always got a kick out of the brevity of their songs. They were generally around two minutes – and usually included a simple repeat of a one-line chorus. This was the true antithesis of the “rock anthems” that were becoming so popular at the time (think of Queen in the same era). Short and sweet.
Although – it gets a little repetitious when it is a single song stuck in your head for a full 55 minute ride.
