Ride Home 6/14: Handel's Like A Prayer

No rivers, no bridges, no nothing. Just a standard ride home. Ok, there was one bridge (the one that took me over the park), but that hardly counts. I've been struggling in deciding between trying to make a pontifex maximus reference or a Ripuarian Franks reference, but instead, I won't.

Remember to shift into a lower gear when you're about to get stuck in traffic. Not much worse than struggling to turn the pedals over as the anxious, frustrated driver of the Saab behind you inches closer. Unless you like pretending to bike in slow motion, or as I call it, motion.

I like the driver who can't quite bring himself to change lanes and just drives down the middle. It's a bold statement. Were it up to me, a hardcore, capitalist, libertarian-type, there'd be no road markings at all. Instead, lanes would just be determined by the free market. (I heard the JP Morgan recently lost a whole elevated highway It's cool- I have a cloverleaf exit credit default swap.)

Motorcycles in bike lanes. Not cool. Many cyclists in bike lanes- cool enough, 'twould (yup) be better if everyone just exhibited a bit more patience and maybe slightly more understanding about when and when not to pass or attempt to pass. Or even why to pass. The "why" is a pretty big, important, fundamental question that goes unasked by far too many bike commuters. If the answer is "to get to the next red light faster" or "to prove that I am faster than this other guy, thereby asserting my superiority," that's probably not a great justification. Be mindful. Act with intentions. But not cruel intentions. SMG taught us that lesson long ago.

Rode behind a guy on a CaBi for most of 11th. He didn't look like he was having fun. I gleaned as much from his scowl. You can treat bike commuting like its a battle to be won or you can treat it like a convenient way to get home. Or you can treat it like some elaborate bit of performance art, replete with bowler hats, clown makeup and live scorpions. If you do the latter, please don't do it near me. I'm deathly afraid of bowler hats.

Rode on sidewalk (illegally). Came close to almost biking into an old lady. I am a terrible person and I put my own convenience over the public order and safety of others. I am sufficiently self-flagellated.

It gets very windy around 3rd street NW. I don't know why this is, but before getting to the Hill, the wind always whips up and I don't care for it.

Grocery store. Might've accidentally hit a Mormon missionary's shin with my bike when I went to lock it while he was unlocking his. My bad. Also, might've had a really difficult time lifting my leg over the bag of broccoli poking out if my unclasped pannier when I mounted my bike to ride home. Crying over spilled broccoli is perfectly acceptable.