Rides 9/26

I took the Ogre this morning. It felt like an Ogre kind of morning. It's cooler. There are some strewn leaves. Clouds linger. It's good that there isn't some deep woodsy path I could've taken towards work because it's likely I'd still be on it, heading deeper still into the forest primeval. Fittingly, I had in my bag some trail mix, which I normally stow in the corner of my desk to serve as an afternoon snack when my energy wanes and my ennui rises. All things considered, it would have been a good day to ride headlong into nature to embrace come what may, but instead I went up 18th to Adams Mill to Calvert. Wild, but of a different kind altogether.

As a result of the closure of the commuter highway that we decided to build through a nature park, the car traffic situation around Connecticut and Calvert has been worse than normal. There are two lanes westbound over the bridge. The left lane, the one where all of the drivers wait for the drivers in front of them to wait for the light to change, is the one that's the route to the parkway entrance. The right lane, the empty one, is a right-turn-only lane that sends people northbound up Connecticut Avenue. Between the two of these lanes is a bike lane. That's where I go. Or at least try because surprisingly absolutely no one, once drivers "suddenly realize" that the right lane is for turns only, they drive into the bike lane in order to merge back into the lane that would facilitate their driving straight. The presence of traffic control officers has only made this problem worse since now drivers can't fake as if they're going to turn right and then just drive through. I have a few thoughts on this:

1. I would prefer cars to not be in the bike lane. It's unsafe, illegal and annoying.
2. This is yet another very clear example of how the problem with the average driver's commute is other drivers. I wish I had the science to prove it, but I can nearly guarantee you that the average driver is caused more delays by assholes in cars doing this than by the entirely panoply of bicyclists he or she might encounter during the commute. Guaranteed.

Oh, then a little later, I almost ran over some garden shears that ended up in a bike lane. When will this senseless war between bicyclists and gardeners end?

I'd rather ride clipless

Ride home was normal. Ogre didn't mind the potholes on Woodley. Who would've guessed? It's still got fun knobby tires on it, but as fall comes closer, I think it might be time to put the fenders back on, which will necessitate a tire change. I like changing tires.

And in other bike news, I think I'm going to go to Connecticut to bike around on some gravel roads near my parents' house. I've got bus tickets for October. It should be fun.