If you run into an asshole, you had a bad day

If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole. 

No, actually, if you run into assholes all day you're just on your bike too long.  Get off the path, get off the streets, and take some time out of the saddle.  I think I need to follow my own advice on this, but fuck it, I'm riding to the liquor store on my day off Monday.

Current beer-scale: 9.4

Hey saddlebags

If you pass me on the right just to run the red at a six-way intersection, I should have the legal recourse to punch you in the face as I pass you. Especially when it happens at every. single. light.

Seriously man, you're harshing my holiday buzz.

Current beer-scale: 6.3

suck it up

Two cold commutes down Lincoln and I'm already done with it.  Spent yesterday yo-yo'ing with some doofus the entire AM, and I swear it was the same guy in the evening.  Other commuters were fine today, but there was honest-to-god snow on the ground in spots after some flurries accumulated overnight.  Not cool. 

Especially not cool since I'm staying until 7 tonite.  All in all the last full week before the holidays start is kind of sucking so far.

Current beer-scale: 9.7

Here they come

Ah, July and Tour time on the lakefront path. Maybe it's just the great weather, but there was a lot more spandex out there this week than last. Still not a bad ride for the first after a long weekend.

Current beer-scale: 8.9

there's always at least one

Damn you roadie, you just had to be socially well-adjusted and hit me up at a time when I was enjoying the sun and the heat and willing to entertain the idea of a spandex hero I didn't instantly dislike.

On my way home yesterday I found myself in-front of a roadie as we calmly made our way through the craziness of the path on a hot June afternoon. It actually wasn't as insane as I was expecting (all the punk crowds had migrated to the Taste set up I guess) so I was happily taking it easy when the roadie asked if he could hitch a ride for a while.

"Sure," I said, wondering why exactly this guy was so tired. "Intervals," he said, stating that he had nearly puked on the last one and was gingerly making his way home. I managed to stop myself from asking why in the world he was doing a sprint workout during rush-hour and just said he could stick around but I was in no rush to navigate the crowds. Cool.

If the interaction had ended there I would have continued on my way unchanged. However, the guy noticed the ND on my bag and started talking about college football and before I knew it, the guy seemed alright despite the fact he almost sprinted to the point of barfing during the busiest part of the day. We chatted until he turned and I kept going, and now I'm cursing myself spending the morning thinking not everyone in a race kit is a jerk, even when there's so much evidence to the contrary on a daily basis.

Live and learn I guess.

Current beer-scale: 4.2

Spring is in the air

Freds are on their bikes.

So I got passed this morning while I was taking easy over the huge rough patches where the asphalt has been gouged away from the path. It was a guy on a fixie, and he passed on the right (grrrrrr) while giving me the "looking-back-sneer-while-I-pull-away" treatment (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr).

Of course I don't mind getting passed. I'm fat & it happens all the time. Especially in the winter, I'm happy cruising along and if someone zips past, more power to them. When I get passed on the right by some hipster who thinks he's tough, that rubs me the wrong way. As soon as I was back on the smooth stuff I stomped on the pedals and flew by him. I will admit I shifted too, but only to completely destroy this tool and leave no doubt that he could not catch me.

I felt foolish by the time I made it to the office, since I was panting like a dog after almost-but-not-quite sprinting the last half of my trip on the path. But it was worth it, and being reminded of how fun it is to go fast has probably convinced me to take the path home this afternoon and go fast then as well. I just hope no one I pass calls me Fred.

Current beer-scale: 8.8 and I'm having multiple flights of microbrew this weekend!

Man did I get absolutely dropped today. It was funny, but there are times when I wish I could shift on Frankenbike.

Someone came up behind me on Lincoln this morning, passed me by running a red but stayed within striking distance. As soon as I had the green I stomped on the pedals to catch up. Managed to pass the guy, which he didn't seem to take too kindly but I threw him a grin so I think he got that I was just messing around. He shifted to catch up but I managed to hold him off, until he shifted twice more and pulled away. A fun couple of blocks but it took more out of it than I thought it wold.

I needed something to pick me up this morning though. It's crappy, cloudy, damp, and if I had my way I'd still be home with the dog versus down at the office. Shit's gotta get done though, and sometimes I'm the only one with a shovel.

Current beer-scale: 6.3

why are we such idiots?

I will admit I don't always do the smart thing on a bike. I made a spur of the moment decision last night to make a stop to look for a birthday gift for the wife that had me cutting through some unusual streets. If there had been more traffic, I made some decisions that would not have been wise. But every now and then I see someone do something so stupid, then immediately do it again, that I have to ask myself if we're all just idiots for riding.

Chicago is not difficult to navigate. Most streets are laid out in a plain grid, with the occasional diagonal like Lincoln, Clybourn, Elston, or Milwaukee cutting through. These streets can save you some time, but I would not recommend rolling through a stop light at a six-way intersection. And yet people do. Like the guy that skidded past me this morning, only to nearly be run over by a Children's Memorial shuttle turning left. And then the no. 11 bus almost got him at the next light, where he did the same thing.

If the guy had stayed ahead of me I wouldn't have cared. That he slowed down after that, only to get upset enough when I passed him to glare at me, pushed my buttons a little. As he passed me at the light before wells, I asked him if he didn't want to try and trackstand again. I was sure there was another bus coming. He didn't care for that. For a second I thought he might actually stop and say something, but he kept riding. So did I, but that was the last of it.

Seriously, we must all be idiots. Most of us sure as hell ride like one.

Current beer-scale: 5.1 and climbing with a late meeting tonite.

My competitive side sometimes gets the best of me

I admit, I am a Cat 6 racer in the worst sense. I take it personally when people pass me too close, and grit my teeth with jealousy when I'm slogging through a headwind and see some spandex-clad spazz spinning away in the opposite direction. I despise drafters, and took a perverse pleasure in shaking one off last night and seeing their headlight fade behind me. I like to get home fast, and that means I basically race home.

And really, I don't see much wrong with that. As much as I enjoy the ride I'd much rather be home with the wife and dog. And on days like today it's even worse, with the Bears in the Thursday night game and pizza for dinner plans. Nevermind the fact that fall is actually here and it was below freezing for the morning ride today. I'll go as fast as I can in those conditions. And I should enjoy it while I can b/c earlier reports of possible AM slush had me prepping Frankenbike last night as I grilled dinner outside. Goodbye speed.

Current beer-scale: 7.2

Yeah, not for me

Rode in my first critical mass last night, for all of about a block. Stayed late last night, and wanted the full mileage for the week vs taking the late route home. Zipped down the path, got off at Fullerton and turned to head down to Webster. Made the turn onto Webster, saw a line of bikers heading north up Clark.

Crap.

Critical mass is no-where on my radar, and now I know that's with good reason. I've been out and seen rides before, but never actually had my way blocked by one. I was even on a bike, and there was no way I could get directly through. This was in addition to the two doofuses arguing with the guy in a car at the light who was getting pissed.

At least I had the option of going with the flow. Turned north with the crowd, made my way left and turned west the wrong way into Belden. Good enough for me. Laughed maniacally as I turned south back to Webster, even with the hassles. That block+ was more than enough for me to confirm that I never have to actually go on a full mass ride.

Current beer-scale: 4.2

"Go on then, if you think you're hard enough."

Whew.
A scenic morning hid a brutal ride in this morning, a never-ending battle against a stiff headwind. Despite the nagging allergy feelings that come with the season change inching forward, I was in a pretty good mood until someone I had passed decided to creak back up to me, wheezing all the way.

I understand the temptation to draft off someone on a day like today. Hell, I did it myself earlier in the week when I got passed on the right and it pissed me off. I latched on and didn't let go. But something about it struck me as annoying this morning so off I went. Maybe it was the idea of someone speeding up only to stop right on my wheel, maybe it was wondering why they had picked me when I was just minding my own business. Whatever reason, it wasn't happening this morning.

In hindsight, it might not have been the best idea. The day has settled in, and I have no idea how to make it to 5:00. It will get here sooner or later, it always does.

Current beer-scale: 1.8-actually managed to have a beer last night, that might do for a while.

Hi Fred!

Hitched a ride on a tri-bike this morning from Fullerton to Oak St. He hit me with a "HEADS UP!" as I was waiting for him to go by as I was getting on the path after crossing LSD this morning. Go ahead and guess whether I was rolling in about to cut him off or actually just standing there waiting for a spandex-clad idiot to go by. It's early enough in the week that it didn't sit too well with me, so I caught up and latched on for a couple miles.

It bugs the piss out of me when someone settles in behind me. So it seems petty for me do it as an annoyance to someone else, but I always figure if it's bugging me then it's my job to shake that someone off. The guy looked back a few times, shifting after each time to get to a smaller ring, but asshole that I am, I wasn't going to let him go until I was damn ready. Once we went up the ramp at Oak, I used the sidewalk to circle around and head back to work. I don't know if I actually bothered him or not, but I felt better.

Usually someone passes me and I just let them go. Yesterday I got passed by a group of three people that it looked like were in the same mood I was this morning, with two of the guys trying their best to keep up with a roadie in front. The awesome thing was the guy in the middle was on a brompton. I was so impressed I had to catch up to take a picture. It doesn't look like it, but these guys were absolutely flying.

Look at the guy's tiny wheels! That's spectacular.

I can't believe there are so many speed freaks still out. Heading back to work there were at least two more bunches of roadies drafting off each other going the other way. I'm not looking forward to the weather turning more fall-like, but there's always a silver lining at least. Hopefully I have a job to bike to once fall settles in.

Current beer-scale: 5.8

Here's a tip sideburns; if you're trying a rolling semi-trackstand through a red light that other people have stopped at, you can't really get mad if someone's able to start up and pass you right off the bat. Especially if you're getting honked at and/or nearly run over as the light changes. It's a free country and all, but your right to be a douche ends where my right to ride home following the rules of the road and not get shit from idiots begins.

But rides like that are still better than driving. Each trip I take in a car convinces me I need to use my bike more. If I could have figured out a way to carry soup to go in a messenger bag, I wouldn't have bothered with the car but no go. Just add a rack to the project list. Awesome.

Current beer-scale: 7.6 & peaking during cubs/brewers

And you are?

Holy crap I had an entire peloton to get around this morning on Lincoln. I've been trying to take it easy and go a little slower when there's more people out, really I have. But when someone's fiddling with their ipod versus going through a green or passing on the right while they're pedaling their little legs off on the granniest gears they have, it's just too hard. In the end it's less aggravating to get to work slightly sweaty than to sit behind a line of people who have good intentions but seemingly have no earthly idea about how commuting actually works and fume about it. I applaud your efforts; now get out of my way.

That last bit really makes me sound like a snob but what the hell, sometimes I am. And as much as I enjoy biking, Monday mornings are not my finest or fairest hour. Add to that ANOTHER instance of nearly getting blindsided by someone running a red while other bikers (ME) have the right of way and you have someone a little on edge. In a perfect world I'd be able to shrug it off and be much healthier about it but that's not really happening today.

In a perfect world, I would have been happier with some of the bikes I tested this weekend too. I can live without the hit my wallet's going to take when I do find something but with so many options for bikes and stores I thought I would at least have some options after some rides. Nope. The funny thing about testing some new, nicer bikes is that they don't feel like my frankenbike, which is an absolute piece of junk but I'm on it everyday and the fit just feels right by now. I have at least one more option locally so I'm not ready to give up but after that it might be time to start thinking slightly out of the box on this.

I'm going to keep looking b/c I don't think I'm quite fed up enough to completely give up on the bike commuting. Yet. Days like today are pushing it, but in a few months it will be cold again and I'll be slogging along alone on the streets. In the meantime I'm going to pay extra attention to the good moments, and hope there are enough of them to loosen me up a bit.

Current beer-scale: 6.3

As my work week's overlap with the Bike to Work challenge ends (on top of leaving early today, and not a moment too soon), I look back on another week that I am behind in spirit but despise in execution. If I was a new bike commuter this week, I think I would rather roll my bike through a busy intersection and never pedal again than put up with the crap that goes on this week. Biking through the neighborhood avoiding buses and cars is difficult enough w/o having to worry about avoiding bikers running red lights W/O THE RIGHT OF WAY! Is that so hard to understand? If you're running a red light good for you, but you don't have the right of way!

If I was a noob starting back up at a stop light about to get run over by someone not realizing there's more than just car traffic about to cross, not only would I resent the hell out of some douche who's only worried about his path, I'd be sorely tempted to keep driving to work and not be all together friendly to bikers when I did. I'm already pissed at the guy, and I understand where he was coming from.

I had the luck to start riding on my own and figure out things like the best route to take and how to manage different traffic situations without having to deal with the flood of other inexperienced riders at the same time. Everyone has to start somewhere, but in cases like this I think it's better to do so solo. I still bike b/c I enjoy the experience of actually biking, whether I'm passing new people or looking out for speed-freaks or not. The only way to improve my commute would be to give me a free beer at each bar I pass on the way home, and even then I'd probably try to figure out how to take them to go. Driving doesn't help, walking isn't any better and it's a lot slower. The bike is only way to go, and it's worth putting up some aggravation along the way. But jesus are we talking a LOT of aggravation some days.

Current beer-scale: 5.1