That was weird. I don't remember the last time I was biking and someone stopped to have an actual conversation from their car with me. That's probably b/c it's never happened, b/c the idea is damn crazy. Imagine trying to drive to work, but you can't b/c the guy in front of you has slowed down to around 15 mph as he talks to some yahoo on his bike.

Still, it was a pleasant enough conversation. Usually when people pull up and roll their window down, it's only to yell insults or tell me to get on the sidewalk (to which the only appropriate response is a silent middle finger--it's impossible to explain to people yelling from their car that you're supposed to be on the road). And at first, that's what I thought this guy was doing but instead he asked me about my bike, and started telling me about the Fuji he's got at home. Ok, cool. I was practically at work anyway, so I could take a second to have a conversation. The idea of it makes me laugh now, but at the time it seemed like a resonable enough thing to do.

Believe me, I'd much rather have that kind of experience over someone turning right without a blinker in front of me or having to squeeze between a bus and someone trying to pull out before it passes them. I realize not everyone in a car is the devil, it just feels like the idiots outweigh the good guys by a significant margin sometimes. But not today.

Good lord. You know it was worth it when the next day, you can't even listen to a beer ad without feeling nauseous. Korean karaoke joints shouldn't be mixed with jack daniels.

In the meantime, I'm more than happy to sit and watch the cubs while the wife and I recover. Slowly. Very slowly.

As long as I've cleaned & lubed my chain recently, I actually quite like riding home in the rain. So yesterday afternoon wasn't the end of the world, especially considering I could have just waited another 15 minutes and missed the whole thing, instead of leaving early to get rained on the entire time. Oh well. Just like you've got to expect more bikers to start showing up this time of year, you also better get used to the idea of getting wet every now and then.

I was even getting my hopes up for more rain today, but it seems to have cleared up to the point where it's not likely. Too bad. I like when it rains because I stay on the bike path versus cutting through the neighborhood, and with less people out I can open it up and just go. Even in shit conditions, wind, rain, cold, being able to just bike is one of the purest forms of fun you can have and it's a lot easier to do when you're not going around busses or trying to obey the street signs. The worse the weather, the better the ride.

hockey night

Red Wings/Avs tonite in the semis; it feels almost like 2002 all over again. Of course, back then things were a little different. I was just figuring out what a waste of time grad school was, trying to get my Masters off the ground and having a lot of motivational trouble due to living on my own for my first full summer in Chicago. I had been dating my future wife for about 6 months but she was temporarily in the suburbs so we were weekends-only, which meant Sundays were filled with either agonizing rides back into the city or horrible dinners in my apartment with this black cloud of "we're not going to see each other for another five days" hanging over them. Basically what I'm saying is win or lose for the wings, I'd rather be now than then. I have a feeling Darren McCarty feels the same way. Go #25!

So I almost got run over last night on the way home, but there's already plenty of blogs out there about the Chicago biking scene and people complaining about drivers who evidently think they're the only people on the road. I don't have the longest commute, so it's usually pretty uneventful except for the 2-3 times a month there's a close call. And while I don't want to hash over each and every ride I have, the adrenaline rush of nearly getting run into makes last night stand out a little.

Basically, someone turning left was getting passed on the right just as I was coming up the stop sign where the action was happening. No blinker, and it's not like they were going anywhere either; they were passing to get to a four-way stop. Only I was practically at the passenger side window slowing down to stop when she went right. I stuck my left hand out to brace myself off her window, and used that to give me some help moving to the right fast enough to stay out from under her. My wedding ring made a nice cracking noise as it hit the window. Thankfully, no one was parked on the street that close to the stop sign, and there was room for me to go right instead of slamming into another car.

How did I know the driver was a she? Because she rolled down her window to call me a dick while she rolled through the stop sign. Classy.

If I was a little more awake this morning I would probably be banging out some venom-filled tirade about drivers vs bikers but it's all been said before. And I realize there are some pretty awful bikers out there as well, that cause just as many problems as the lousy drivers. Entitled speed-freaks that want drivers to give them the rules of the road they expect, but then don't follow any themselves aren't going to solve any problems between cars and bikes.

Being a bike commuter has made me a better driver when I do have to drive somewhere. I like to think I look around more and make sure there aren't vehicles of any kind where I want to go and I'm willing to give bikers room to get around in. If I see a biker while I'm giving my wife a ride to work or something I'm usually jealous, but I'll still make sure I'm not in their lane.

At some point you've just gotta let it go. My wife and I have been talking a lot about karma lately; whether we really believed in it and if we had any stored up to make some upcoming life decisions go our way or not. Or at least make the decision-making a little easier. It's definetely easier to see karma as some kind grand scale measuring out everyone's actions than seeing people act like selfish pricks without repercussions, but I'm not always sure that's how things work. Let's hope so.

Say anything.

Do I have anything to say, interesting or otherwise?

Probably not.

Will I remember that I've posted this and come back to the site tomorrow?

Probably not.

Ah, the wonders of the internets. I love the site this image came from, someecards.com. Not sounding like a complete douche is usually a good plan.