Ride in 2/7

A really nice morning weather-wise. Off to a later start this morning than usual. Wasn't really on the road until after 8:45. I don't know if it was the later time (I normally leave a little after 8) or the nice weather, but there was definitely a qualitatively different kind of bike commuter out this morning. A little slower, a little more upright, a little less lycra-ed. I'm used to seeing those guys who look like they're training for a triathalon; to the people I rode with today, I probably looked like I was training for one. At first I thought that I would just pass and go my own pace, but since it was so nice out, I just followed in line and enjoyed taking it easy. I never know the etiquette for passing people on trails and in bike lanes. It's weird- you don't want to seem like a competitive jerk overtaking someone, but I also worry that "tailgating" makes people nervous and again makes you look like a jerk. In conclusion, there should only ever be one bike on the road and if there are more, they should be legally mandated to all ride at the same speed.
My excitement about my new bike was hard to suppress this morning. I've even been considering taking part in the Vasa Ride, put on by the Embassy of Sweden. Here's the scoop:

Starting from the Embassy of Sweden building, House of Sweden, bicyclists will duplicate the 56-mile Vasa race with a non-competitive ride through scenic upper Northwest Washington DC and into Montgomery County, MD.

In keeping with the Vasaloppet’s week-long series of events for everyone, WABA also has designed shorter routes, a Halv Vasa (28 miles) and a Kort Vasa (14 miles) so there's sure to be something for everyone! We will publish the Vasa routes shortly before the event date. 

All rides will finish with the Vasa Race's traditional and famed blueberry soup courtesy of Ekströms, part of Procordia Food AB and the Embassy. Consider bringing a lock to secure your bike to one of our racks after the ride.

Two things- I would only do the Halv Vasa because I think that 56 miles would be too long for someone who really only rides 6.5 miles at a time. And blueberry soup sounds fucking awesome/horrible. I like blueberry smoothies- is it anything like a blueberry gazpacho? (Dear Top Chef Contestants, Blueberry gazpacho is a trademarked idea of Tales From the Sharrows. Love, Brian). I don't know- it's in a month, so I'll think about.
One last revelation for the day. I used to think that an M series BMW was the scariest car on the road. Not because the engine seems to automatically rev even louder when it passes a bicycle (which I swear is an actual design feature) and not because all some BMW drivers are house-music loving, over-caffeinated, hyper-virility-aspiring douchebags sometimes drive above the speed limit. Not anymore though because I was reminded that the make of car you should least want to see, especially when driving through a residential neighborhood, is a Cadillac. Seriously. I don't mean to be ageist (or at least not very ageist), but whenever I see a Cadillac on the road I think of one of those scenes in a movie where there's a dingy directly in the path of an oncoming freighter. It's lumbering toward you, the captain can't see you (perhaps because she's a 4 foot 11 old lady?) and you know that there's no way it's going to be able to change course in time to avoid utter annihilation. Anyway, I'm being tongue-in-cheek with regard to the stereotypes of the drivers of these cars and please don't take offense. Though I'm pretty sure that neither of the two readers of this blog drives either of these cars.