it did snow
and being without cross country skies
I had to rough it on the bike
the streets were a mess
and the city can be a brutal place for the bike
I was being tailgated by each and every cyclist
only to catch a pack of cars
pass that pack of cars
and then be tailgated by the leader of that pack
only to catch more cars at the next light
pass that pack of cars
move forward fluidly forward
only to be moving safe, not speedy, yet faster than car pace
only to find myself being tailgated by some speeding car
exceeding the speed limit to catch me
and foregoing common sense
risking my life
and risking the paint job on their car
if only they knew i was acting as a pace vehicle for them
not intentionally, but by proxy
keeping them from slamming into another car
or worse yet losing control and running over a sidewalk full of pedestrians