Ride Log -13 April 2009

Happy Easter everyone! Unfortunately I didn't get out over the weekend, but today was beautiful. Looks like we'll get another storm front Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday and Friday look promising. Things were a bit chilly this morning, but I was on the road earlier than usual. It was still upper 30s. This afternoon the temp was perfect at 61 degrees.

The ride felt a bit edgy today, however. I encountered several drivers on both ends of the commute that got me a bit jumpy. Nothing too bad, just overly aggressive driving. This morning as I was coming up into a section where another road merges with the highway I had a truck behind me pushing the speed and riding my tail a bit. As we came to the merge section, I signaled my intention to switch to the merge lane and when I checked my mirror again the truck had already sped up and began to change lanes across the double white behind me. I was nervous he was going ride up my tailpipe. Ultimately he held off and let me in, but what was really annoying was that he got off on the next exit 1/2 mile away. Gees people! What is the rush!? Are you willing to run somebody over just to get to your destination 7 seconds sooner?

This afternoon saw a lot of the same thing. Drivers darting in and out, speeding up and slowing down unexpectedly, nosing into spaces even too small for me. I wasn't so concerned about getting hit myself as much as some idiot causing some chain reaction that would find me unavoidably in the middle. I appreciate the experience though. I suppose it helps to keep me cautious and alert enough to anticipate problems. Commuting shouldn't necessarily be a joy ride.

(Conditions - Time: 7:00am; Temp: Hi - ~60F, Lo - 38F; wind: 8 mph S; Conditions: Clear, dry, sunny. Music: Library shuffle/Chicago - Greatest Hits, Clothing: Jacket with liner, Sweater, Neoprene face mask, heavy gloves, leather chaps and Helmut.)