Hare the Road

Madison County, Indana (Anderson area) has developed an impressive collection of cycling routes called the Heartland Bikeways of Madison County.  Since my wife has family in the area, we will have to arrange a few day trips where I can explore the routes while she visits.

Already planning for spring!

Notes

I haven't been riding lately, as the weather has been two out of three from the set cold, windy, and rainy for quite a while. However, I did have some thoughts to share.

First, I almost hit a cyclist last week. When I was pulling into the cleaners to drop off some laundry, I noticed a guy (probably a college student) weaving his way from sidewalk to sidewalk as he headed towards campus. As I came up State Street in the left lane of the one way street, I saw that he had decided to ride in the lane. I slowed as I caught up with him. On the sidewalk another kid on his bike was watching the guy in the lane in front of me and decided to follow. It only took him half a revolution of his crank to jump out in front of me. I screeched to a halt about a foot from his left shoe, and I truly think that if it had not been for the lane rider that caused me to slow, I would have hit him. The young rider looked up at me, and I couldn't help starting to laugh. He pulled his bike back onto the sidewalk and I moved on.

Today, I was one car away from a near accident. A young man on a small bike came flying out into traffic from a one way cross street - and he wasn't going the one way that was allowed. The car in front of me had to swerve quickly to miss him. The kid then jumped onto the sidewalk and continued on.

But the worst story was in the Toronto Globe and Mail. Apparently, an altercation between a cyclist and a cabbie ended with the cabbie running over the cyclist and then fleeing the scene. The cyclist has lost a leg and is in critical condition. No word yet on what caused the argument.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081115.CYCLIST15/EmailTPStory/National

On a lighter note, I had a meeting last week in the office of an Executive Director, and was surprized to see a Gary Fisher bicycle in the corner.  He said that during the warmer weather he rides the multi-use trails found near his location.  If a 60+ year old who wears a suit every day to work can find time to ride, I should be able to do more when conditions are a little more favorable.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get a few more rides in this month.

Week in Review II

Had the chance for three commutes this week. This unnaturally warm weather has been great for riding, although the switch to standard time makes the evenings dark pretty early.

While pulling my lock off the bike, it caught the wire running from the cyclo-computer to the sensor, rendering it useless. Another toy to replace!

Miles Ridden:

Monday: 9.6
Tuesday: 7.2
Wednesday: 7.2

Fall Color Tour

I had time for a quick ride in the afternoon between chores (cleaning up from last nights party in preparation for a visit from my mother) to hit the Bridge. Lots of leaf color on the route.

Miles Ridden: 9.0

It's Just Like Riding a Bike

Since I had a shift at the pre-game festivities today, I thought I would see if I still knew how this bike thing worked, as it has been too long since the last ride. Turns out, I'm pretty good at it.

Dressed for tooling around in a golf cart on a fall day, I got warm pretty quickly and was wishing that I had hooked up a pannier to hold my jacket.

I got home before the end of the 1st quarter and watched the rest of the game at home.

Miles Ridden: 7.0