my effort in traffic in my cross town commute and my cross town rides is to ride through like a ghost not expecting anyone to alter their trajectory due to my movements...
well... that is not entirely true... the cars behind me may not always be granted the passage that they desire as I am forced to make the decisions for them as they have shown that they have no care or concern for my well being as they have shown that their actions lack strategy... they move without logic or meaning their actions are devoid of common sense and lack common courtesy
this morning my timing was off perhaps I was focused on too many things at once left out the back alley at the same time as one of my neighbors his office is around the corner from mine he travels on his small 50cc motor scooter while I travel by bicycle on this day he issued the challenge of John Henry.... MAN VERSUS MACHINE although I did not fully accept the joking challenge I could not refuse the seeing who would win with a natural effort not a race filled approach I altered my trajectory and I altered my pace but only slightly... thinking the more direct route would get me their more quickly
the scooter left out fast but I caught up with him without trying to take things to race pace our route was the very similar... I saw him a half a block ahead at each turn through the streets of Mount Pleasant as I took the alleys after a short hill in Adams Morgan I caught him at a red light the light turned green before I had a chance to make a pass
I rode with my camera around my neck and was still looking for potential subjects for the page after passing him at a red light I slowed my pace to get a moving shot of a woman with a nice basket on her bike as I went down 18th Street
then I passed him at the base of the hill where he stopped for a series of red lights a collection of red lights and stop signs sent me forward at a rate he could not match
I was riding neither fast nor furious my actions were not as fluid or smooth as I usually aim to have them be it was like I was trying to force a square peg into a square hole yet I managed to fit through just the same
cars were slowing and stopping and I was pausing and going in ways that caused more concern for the other than expected the classic rarity of a car driver seeing me and slowing for me when I planned to dip behind them unseen happened more than once it is an awkward exchange... how can you say... I did not want you to stop for me? when we always want the car driver to slow and stop rather than run us down... yet... I wanted these cars to maintain their trajectory as my path was through the space that they had previously occupied but no... they slowed and stopped... thus keeping the space that I wanted to pass through forcing me to awkwardly alter my pace and roll in front of them when I really wanted to pass behind them making me neither smooth nor considerate
making me look like both the idiot and the asshole
Lance is back on the bike... story in the NY TIMES www.nytimes.com
I wonder... is it better to be in a ditch in Spain or in the gutter in NYC? Then there’s the obvious side effects — the pain, the time off the bike and psychologically, you’re a little like, ‘I’m 37 years old, lying in a ditch in Spain. O.K., what am I doing?’ ”
in recent years Lance has been in the tabloids funny he thinks some behavior is appropriate for a 37 year old father... while crashing his bicycle is not appropriate http://thesuperficial.com www.huffingtonpost.com
I have not documented the trail... but it may have involved Kate Hudson... Paris Hilton... Matthew McConahey.... and the Olson twins
now... I have no issue with Lance sowing his oats... but... to talk about inappropriate behavior for a father of three? well... riding and racing bicycles... that is not his misstep
oh yea... Kate Hudson and Sheryl Crow MAN! LANCE IS A STUD! Lance should market a LIVESTRONG... oh... nevermind.
really nothing more than a ride to a destination there was not much planning nearly all the information that I found was inaccurate my language skills did not help with the process
the air was thin and cold the water was certainly colder had I known of the myth of the healing powers of the water I would have climbed in not sure how I would have warmed up again... perhaps it is best that I did not
the ride to the lake was a long climb the ride down was a scream maybe I will glance at some pictures from the trip for a more detailed story
Fermin Sanchez... that was the name of the ranger at the station by the lake at the top
it was a short tour... yet the trip to Peru was a month long bringing a bike had its hassles yet offered a variety of freedoms as well as an assortment of memories
reminds me of the old one piece mountain bike handlebar/stem that worked so well creating a triangle that held a kryptonite lock hmmmm.... maybe KRYPTONITE would do well to enginer a come back of that sort of design so many people ride with their lock dangling from their handlebar as they ride give them that same convenience with a little more safety! http://unbreakable-bonds.blogspot.com/
it is saturday morning... these images were put here waiting for words earlier this week but what word should I put on the page do I go on about my depression caused by my rib injury
the ribs are sore but worse than the soreness is my inability to do so many things that I want to do yes I can ride my bike... but only at a lesser intensity definitely not on dirt last weekend I missed the Maryland State Championships at Greenbrier... oh well...
it is not so much the State Championships as the race itself and what the effort of racing and competing does for me
to exert myself and to put myself on the line is a good zap to the system it clears my mind and refreshes my soul
F)CK! I just sneezed! F)CK THAT HURTS! the rib injury goes unnoticed until it reveals itself sneezing is worse than coughing or laugh coughing and laughing suck but sneezing expands the chest in such a way that the injury is made fresh again
I question my choice not to go to the doctor partially due to American Guilt... the thought that I can not miss any more work missed the Monday after the Baker's Dozen... then had a dental appointment the following day for some reason I thought that that was too much
my post work rides have been infrequent the times on the bike have been short and low intensity the injury has robbed me of a certain level of ambition I have lost a desire to attack I must get that desire to attack back