Ride In 5/18

I intended to take a different bridge into work each day this week. This for some reason would prove something important about the versatility of bike commuting, though I suppose one could just as easily drive, walk or pogo over a different bridge each day and make the same point about their preferred mode of travel. In any case, I slipped into auo-pilot this morning and before I even realized it, I was on Fairfax Drive pedaling behind a guy in slingback mandals with long 80s rocker hair, bleached from the sun and replete with split ends. I know I've seen him before; I can't recall if I've ever mentioned him in the blog. I forget most of the stuff I plan to write about and frequently have to resort to making things up going over my ride in my head until I can recall something noteworthy.
The County has installed the (second) bike signal at the intersection of the Custis Trail and Oak Street. When I got there, it was red, so I patiently waited. I was trying to exhort some social pressure on my fellow cyclists, not out of any desire to see them stop, but just from a general curiosity about my own ability to exhort others. I'm the Svengali of bike commuting. Or not so much, since riders coming in the opposite direction saw no need to stop and wait for the light to change. No one rode up from behind me while I waited, so I don't know if my social pressure/blocking their way would have resulted in their waiting for the light to change. If the goal of the signals is increased compliance, I think it's going to take some time to happen, if it ever happens. The streets that intersect the Custis aren't the busiest ones so it's not like cyclists were especially habituated to stopping and waiting for traffic prior to the installation. But, we'll see.

I don't think it's the explicit marking of Bike to Work week, but I have noticed a lot more people riding around the city in the past couple of days. Perhaps this is because I'm riding with my eyes open rather than shut as I used to do. I made the mistake of wearing sunglasses this morning, so everything looked like it was a from a Zack Snyder movie, minus the burly shirtless men. So moody.
I've been meaning to ride to work in my normal clothes, but the potential for rain has really dissuaded me from trying it. This seems like a rather self-evident reason for biking in non-work clothes. And when it's not the rain, it's the overall mugginess. Do what you want, but is it so hard to have some clothes for biking (I ride to work in a tuxedo most days. James Bond effect) and some other clothes you can change into when you get to the office?
Parent drop-off is just a mess and it's tough for a bicyclist to negotiate who's stopping, who's parking, who's leaving a spot without signaling, who's making some weird u-turn and who is just idling in the middle of the street because their kid can't  get their stuff together to get out of the damn car. It's one thing in a suburban setting (though still bad), but it's much worse on the narrow blocks of Burleith. They need two cops (I think they're cops, but if not, they're at least trained professionals)to direct the morning traffic! Couldn't these resources be better used elsewhere?
Glover Park bike commuters are finally out in force. Where've you been? Waiting for the Chipotle to open?
I tried to "race" the N8 up the hill today and that went well for the first hundred feet or so. Actually, for even farther than that, I managed to be ahead of the bus. Of course, this was on account of the bus picking up some passengers and once they had paid their fares, the bus easily managed to tut on by. You have to make your own fun. I don't recommend racing buses or racing anything really. At least if you're not going to win.