The Fat Guy In The Back
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Sioux Falls, SD
Posts: 2,532
Bikes: '81 Panasonic Sport, '02 Giant Boulder SE, '08 Felt S32, '10 Diamondback Insight RS, '10 Windsor Clockwork, '15 Kestrel Evoke 3.0, '19 Salsa Mukluk
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Consecutive bicycle work commute number 1313:
Backtrack to yesterday morning: I had just put on my backpack and was walking out the door getting ready to ride to the client location, when I suddenly remembered I had an 8 AM doctor's appointment. Thankfully the client location and the hospital are nearly the exact same distance from home, just in different directions, so I was able to make it to my appointment on time. Glad I remembered that.
About a half mile from the hospital I could see lights flashing ahead. When I got closer the road was shut down and it seemed like every cop in the city was in the area, including the SWAT team. I cut north a block thinking I could just go around, and they had that street blocked off as well. Had to ride a few blocks out of my way before I came to a street that wasn't shut down. Later on the news I heard that the police had been serving a warrant and it didn't go so smooth.
Back to this morning: Brrrrr. When I left the house it was 23°F with a stiff headwind. The pavement was dry so at least I could take the road bike, which cuts the wind noticeably better than my other bikes. The wind still slowed me down to 8-10 mph in the open areas. I arrived at the office pretty chilled with numb toes. My coworker who is about an 80% bicycle commuter drove to work, and when he saw me arrived he said, "I think I made the right choice about not riding today." I'm not sure I agree with him, but I can understand his reasoning.
About a 1/4 mile from the office I saw another guy on a bike. His bike was a single speed cruiser, and his gear didn't look like he was a routine cyclist. He definitely looked cold. He was riding down the sidewalk, ran a red light and then proceeded to ride on the wrong side of the road. When I see people like this my immediate thought is, "DUI; lost his license." He didn't appear to be riding because he wanted to ride.