When the Bike Gods Are Not Amused

Did I miss a sacrificial ceremony somewhere? Did I accidentally throw away an old inter-tube instead of recycling it? Have I forgotten to thank my bike for its service to it's humble owner?

I can not figure out how I angered the Bike Gods.

Here's what happened: I wanted to ride with the local bicycle club on their usual Sunday evening jaunt around town. Twenty miles, little traffic. Simple enough.

I'm rushing to get myself together to drive to the launching site. Yes, I would have preferred to ride my bike there, but it is 13 miles away, which would have been a total of almost 50 miles riding with the ride itself. Not up to that distance yet.

In summary, these all really happened, really: (1) I ripped a large hole in my biking shorts as I was pulling them up; (2) I ripped a small spot in my shirt as I was twisting it around my head, to get it on the right way; (2) it took me 30 minutes to get my bike ready because I kept forgetting stuff in the house, after I locked the door. Stuff like my helmet. My light. My water bottle. Then my eye shades.

I arrive at the location after (3) hitting every single possible red light; (4) I'm driving up about 100 yards away -- the group is heading out; I'm 5 min. too late; I decide to ride around the lakes, not waste the trip; (5) my computer magnet falls off; the threads have mysteriously stripped themselves, I can't use it; (6) I think, I'll check my cadence - cool, I never do that; the cadence magnet falls off, it's little plastic holder breaks into 15 minute little pieces when I laughingly try to fix it.

I have a decent ride -- yes -- head back home, and notice I have grease all over my (white) riding shirt.

Maybe the Bike Gods are just irritated about something. When they really get mad, I hear that most horrid of all sounds: wiiiisssshhhh. Another flat.

NOT A TOTAL WASTE OF WEEKEND.

I was able to fit some old fenders onto my bike, since it's been raining every day for 4 years now. Here are some pictures of my bike's new duds.

 

All decked out for a day on the town.

 

Nothing to attach a standard rack to, so this has to do.

 

Big mud flaps keep the daily commuter happy and dry; bike, too.

 

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Self-Image and "Taking the Lane"

In my rides around my town this weekend - two rides, 30 miles in-town each - I again faced the supreme decision when riding in traffic: do I boldly "take the lane" and ride inside of the car lane, or do I meekly scoot over to ride as close to the right edge as possible, or as "reasonably safe," as the law states.

Reading many helpful blogs and a few book chapters, the consensus among safety experts is without a doubt: take the lane.

But that takes a fair amount of guts, honestly. As least for me. I can see cars way off in the distance in my mirror, and seconds later they are on me. Will they see me? Will I be flattened into the road? Will a road bump be named after me in that spot?

So, I tried both ways this weekend, since I took some out-of-my-normal-route side trips, some down some fairly busy streets.

I immediately realized the truth: riding close to the right side was terrifying.

Taking the lane: nerve racking at first, then...okay. Even wise. Even "reasonably safe."

Inevitably when I was close to the right shoulder, which really doesn't exist in 95% of my town, in four lanes of traffic, cars two-abroad would go flying past me, sometimes within mere inches.

I've driven on those roads. People speed as if on the interstate.

The same thing happened when I was trying to be "nice," riding toward the right shoulder on two-lane streets.

When approached by a car from behind and in front, the car behind almost always (1) never slowed down, (2) moved over maybe an inch, and (3) scarred the you-know-what out of me. Over and over.

Decision made: take the lane, like the experts said. Duh.

Here's a wonderful video of how it's done, courtesy of the outstanding website communteorlando.com. Every city needs a website like this! http://vimeo.com/9827254

Keri Caffrey, the website manager, states,

"The epiphany which transforms us into confident cyclists is grasping the simple (albeit counter-intuitive) fact that we have control of our environment. That control comes from predictability, communication and (believe it or not) self-image."

Well said, and that you Keri.

Posted via email from Bike Like Me