Ride Home 3/2: 1 Contact

Another ride home in normal people clothes and yet more rain. The result: my jeans got wet. So, I cried for like 75 hours and I'm totally distraught and I'll never get over it because being wet for only a little bit of time is the worst thing that could ever happen to befall anyone and is also the greatest tragedy in the history of mankind. Or, maybe it wasn't really that bad. It only rained a little. It's hard to keep track of the emotional valence I'm supposed to have about these things. That's the last time I get a back-alley lobotomy.
I have grown increasingly confident with riding in the rain, perhaps because I've done more of it or perhaps because of those Tony Robbins tapes. In either case, I've pretty much learned how much room I need to brake and how fast I can go without being wobbly or what things on the road to avoid. So, good for me, I guess. Part of my ride on Mass, most of it actually, was on the sidewalk on account of some backed up car traffic and my willingness to avoid it. For the first time ever, I actually rode the sidewalk around Sheriden Circle and cut my way across 23rd and managed the whole thing without many terrible consequences. SPOILER ALERT: I was surprised by that, since it's an intersection of DOOM. I thought I was really gaining on this bicyclist in front of me but it turned out that he was riding towards me with a red blinky mounted on his handlebars.
A cotton hooded sweatshirt in a dark color, while a perpetual marker of alt-coolness, makes for terrible bike attire for rainy days. The guy behind me who was wearing one looked cold.
I'm going to let you in on a little secret: anyone who says "I just want them to enforce the laws for everybody no matter whether they're biking, driving or walking" is lying. That's just not true. Traffic law is a morass of things people ignore every single day. Enforce the law on someone who honks their horn? Enforce the law on every person who speeds? or jaywalks? Enforce the law if someone doesn't come to a complete stop? Turn without signaling? Double-park in a bike lane? Hell, drive with two tires in a bike lane? Wipers without lights? Pick any banal traffic law. No one really wants "them" to just "enforce the law no matter what."All the laws? All the time? For all violations? Really? Are you sure?
Q street was mostly devoid of bicyclists. Saw another one around R and 13th, but she crossed to the other side of the street for some reason and waited at the curb to cross. Maybe she was going to ride up 13th. I don't know. This is the second time that this has happened to me recently, so I don't know if this is a cool new game that everyone is playing (Hasbro presented "Avoid TFTS") or maybe there's just some special allure about leaving a bike lane to cross the street from the crosswalk. Whatever.
I stuck on Q to 7th, after riding behind another bicyclist for a while (I remember very little about her other than her pashmina, which I could best describe as, a pashmina of indeterminate color). 7th is fine for a while, but like 11th and sundry other streets, the bike lane just stops after a while. THIS IS NOT A BICYCLE NETWORK.
The reason for my detour was to check out the new Bicycle Space, which can best be described as "not quite fully set up yet." It's really only their first day, so within a few more, even more will be out on display. Nonetheless, here are some photos:

I got the grand tour (bicycle joke?) from Jordan. It's going to be a really cool space once it's all done and radically different from the other shops in the area. I encourage you to check it out and buy a couple of bicycles. (Note: Bicycle Space is not a paid endorser of this blog. It's just my favorite bike shop)
7th from the shop was crummy. At 7th and New York, I sort of ran out of space between the sidewalk and the travel lane and wasn't exactly on either and was passed closely first by a black SUV and then by a taxi. An Orange taxi. I decided to get off and 7th and took G (maybe?) to 6th and rode that to E and took E over to Union Station, through the craters and then Mass and through (not around) Stanton Park. This is, I think, the first time I've actually ridden through the park. The park consists of an equestrian statue, some benches, grass and a kids playground. Luxe. (For DC parks, it actually sort of it)
I had to go to the store, so I did that, and there pretty much wasn't anything exciting about the ride there or my time in the store unless you think that my walking around aimlessly with some kale trying to figure out what else goes with kale is exciting. Note: we didn't even eat the kale. I think it's still on the counter.
Until Monday.
Hugs and kisses,

TFTS

PS: From now on, I'm ending all blog posts with "hugs and kisses."
PPS: When did I adopt epistolary sign offs? This is a blog, not a letter.