Ride Home 5/11

"Time to bang out another crappy blog post," I said to my wife before walking the dog before coming back inside to sit down at the computer. Now that we're all psyched to do this, let's go! I'm going to be using bullet points and while I wish there was a less violent name for them (Wizard points?), their appellation isn't enough to dissuade me from their use:

• Sometimes you think that you're "taking the lane" and preventing a car from passing you when you might actually not be. I experienced this today at a stop sign, where I diligently stopped (I'm credible!) to wait for a driver to turn and I realized that, while there shouldn't be trance music ba-ba-ba-bumping to my, left there was and it was emanating from some dude's car. WTF, dude? There was barely any room and yet you thought, "let me just pull the mazda right in that spot between the bicyclist and the median." 
• I think that all blocks surrounding a high school should be car free. I'm not really an anti-car type, but have you ever seen high school kids near their school? Fuck if they care whether cars are coming- they're just gonna go where they go. And is there anything more annoying than parent pick-up? How about your kid walks a block to your car? Would that be so onerous?
• If you're going to ride the wrong way down the bike lane, I expect at least a sheepish look where I give you a death stare. I don't care what's on your iPod. By the way, don't wear headphones while biking. Please, I beseech you. I'm a big time headphone user when I'm walking (note: I don't jog. ever), but never when I bike. It's just not a good idea. I can't tell you how many times (347) that I've been so happy that I've heard cars coming up behind me or from around a bend. 
• Behind a jacked asian dude whose shoulders were about 4 feet wide riding a CaBi across the Key Bridge. He was in a neon shirt. I do not know if he changed into the shirt to ride the bike or whether as a jacked Asian dude he just likes to wear tight neon shirts.
• Multispace meters in Arlington. They've installed a ton of them recently. Multispace meters are great for a lot of reasons, but the best of which is being able to use a credit card to pay. A $2 charge seems way cheaper than eight quarters. Especially if they're state quarters. I didn't see them today because I road rode the Custis, but I've been meaning to mention them for the past few days. Bullets=house-keeping.
•   Ten (10) cyclists riding in the opposite direction on the Custis today between Lynn and where I got off at Quincy. That seems pretty good, especially since it's the reverse commute. It was nice to ride the trail for a change, but I think I still prefer the streets. Because I'm hardcore. Wait, that's not it. It's just that I like direct routes. 
•  No sharrows on Henderson when they re-paved the street. Maybe they just haven't added them yet? Not hopeful. 
•  I've taken to riding on the sidewalk for the last half-block of my ride home. I've been increasingly paranoid of being rear-ended lately and I figure that it's better to ride the sidewalk in front of a construction site than stay in the street where motorists are trying to accelerate to 40mph, especially when I'm turning right into a driveway. Just a personal preference. 

 Crappy blog post out. Peace.