Near Death Experience

Tonight I was riding my bike home from my friends' place after hanging out for the afternoon.  They made a nice dinner and I had to come home to get my things in order for my trip out of the Hammy (aka Bellingham.)  I have been riding my bike all over town a lot lately and it is pretty sweet, minus the fact that I broke the front fender last Summer and still have yet to get the part that I need.  The taste of the sandy pavement spray is comforting for the first couple minutes.  The crunch can get a bit annoying, especially when chewing gum.

Anyway, tonight I was hauling at a pretty good clip.  I like to go fast.  I think I end up going really fast even when I start out just taking it easy.  Since I quit smoking cigarettes my lungs have had a really solid capacity and if I get into my breathing I just get lost in the ride, which in turn gets me up to a decent speed.  As I was riding tonight I saw a car pull up to the intersection of 32nd Street and Taylor Avenue about 150 feet in front of me. 
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I have flashing Cateye lights on the front and the back of my bike that I assume are bright enough to be seen from that distance.  I kept my speed and as I closed in on the intersection I saw that the girl driving wasn't paying any attention and started to pull out in front of me.  I grabbed my brake handles the hardest that ever have had to.  My wheels locked up and I skidded sideways for about 20 feet.  I shouted at the top of my lungs (which are pretty strong these days) and the girl stopped.  I slid up to the driver-side front fender and bumped it lightly with my front tire.  The two girls looked at each other, looked at me, looked at each other and knowing how to read lips I saw them say "That was close.  Where did he come from?"  Just goes to show you how much attention you need to pay when driving.

I usually try to wear bright clothing but all of my rain gear is black.  The Ortleib bags that I carry on my Surly Cross-Check also have reflective spots on the sides.  I am seriously considering getting a much brighter light for the handlebars.  I am also seriously thinking about picking up a bright yellow rain jacket.  If you ride bikes in the Northwest or anytime at night always have flashing lights and wear a helmet.  My little brother was in the hospital after a collision with a car this past year for four days.  Thankfully he was wearing a helmet.  He is still going through the motions with the legal proceedings.  The driver only had $10,000 in personal injury and the bills amounted to over 20.  If he hadn't been wearing a helmet he would not be with us today.

Ride hard, but ride safe!

25 Miler and Environmental Concerns

Yesterday morning I woke up and went out on an early ride.  I hopped on my bike with my sissy pants on, outer shorts of course, and headed out.  I rode into Bellingham from Fairhaven and stopped at my bro's lady's pad to pick up my water bottle.  Her car was locked and she was at the YMCA with her keys.  I rode to the Y, back to her place, filled the water bottle, then headed back out on the road.  

My initial plan was to ride from Bellingham to Ferndale and head East on Hovander Road.  I entered Marietta and started to feel pain in my knee.  Normally I have constant issue with my left (I ride regular and  front for snow, skate, etc), but yesterday it was my right.  I made it to about 13 miles into the ride and turned around due to the growing pain and growing concern.  I am going to assume that my knee suffered some acute injury while I was riding the 105 mile Tour De Whatcom. Sadly we didn't get the fist bump in there.  Of course my legs were sore after that ride but it went away and I thought I was all good.

As I was riding back into town I tried to distract myself by taking in the scenery.  There are some really nice mountain views of Baker along the course I had selected.  At one point I glanced to my right into the deep ditch off of the side of the road and to my surprise I saw a large white object.  Upon closer investigation I realized it was a washing machine.  A FUCKING WASHING MACHINE!  Seriously?  About a quarter mile further I saw another object.  This time it was the partner appliance to the previously mentioned.  I almost wrecked my bike.  Normally I try not to let the ignorance of mankind get to me, but yesterday kinda messed with me.  It's one thing to accidentally drop your beer can off of a chair lift, or a cigarette butt slips from your hand while out on the water.  There is no excuse for accidentally leaving your clothing cleaning devices 10 feet in a ditch off the side of a country road! 

Now I must let the leg rest for a couple days.  Saturday my good friends Terence and Alyson are getting married and I am going to need my leg to be in dancing condition.  No better time to cut some serious rug than at a wedding!