January 31, 2013

Shrink and Fade - Shadow Play

There's at least one nice thing that results from riding to work in the dark.  It stems from the fact that cars have to use lights.  It's particularly nice for those ninja-cars that are silent as cottonball ping-pong.

This morning I watched my shadow backlit by yellow shrink toward me and then fade to my right.  It's the 'fade to my right' part that really sings to me.  The shrink part can actually be a little unnerving, but that 'fade right' is money!

January 30, 2013

Red Light Temptation

Consider this scenario:

On your ride to work you come upon a red traffic light at about 6:40 a.m.  The light is at the intersection of minor arterials, and there is absolutely no traffic in sight.

How temptated are you to run the light?

If you were to rate the temptation from 1 to 10 is it:

1 - I have standards and do not flex
2-3 - I'm not prone to run lights, but standing here in the street feels strange
4-5 - Who's gonna know? *as your feet twitch and your fingers start to relax on the brake levers*
6-7 - You stop, look both ways, check behind you...double check the 'flashing hand' walk indicator...
8-9 - You pre-conceive the situation and stop only briefly enough to verify your preminition
10 - Temptation? No, this is a standard situation, and is completely normal to roll through.  Those detection loops never respond to cyclists anyway.

I've placed a poll to the right for entertainment value.  So let's see how tempted people feel...

For me, this morning, it was about a 3 or 4.

January 29, 2013

Sliders

I'm gonna go out for sliders instead of riding today. 

Actually, I chose this morning to shower at home so I could shave. 

As it turned out, I walked out to head to the bus and found skid marks coming into my driveway from the street.  Later, from the bus, I saw a truck spun around on the road.  Glad I chose NOT to ride this morning!

January 28, 2013

Post-Shower Goodness

Today provided a nice thought-provoking ride to work.  The snow was not too deep or scary, the temperature was not too cold.  I was down to the proper number of layers.  I was early enough to avoid the crazy, late drivers on the road.  It was good.  My sit bones were even in a better way. 

I had plenty of time to shower and get ready for work; including enough time for the water to warm up plenty before I got in.  A quick shower and then back out.  As I reached for my towell, I felt a hair in my mouth.  Not one to let that linger, I brought my hand to my mouth and used my towell to brush the hair off my tongue.  And then I gagged as I realized I had just LICKED my gym towell.

A Little Motivation

I'm the kind that needs a carrot dangling out there to keep me progressing.  So I'm looking for an event to put me in 'workout for reals' mode. 

I've been eyeing the Ronde van Palouse.  It's gritty, it's intense, and I know a few people who have done it.  I even volunteered as a lead car one year.  It's an epic race, and I think it would be perfect as my first road race.  Perfect to kill me.

I haven't committed yet.  I'm just throwing it in the ring as a possibility.  I may be throwing a few more in there as well.  Actually, one that is for sure on my list is the Wednesday Night Mountain Bike Series.  I did one of these a few years back and had an amazing time!  It would be awesome to hit the whole series. 

Anyway, just a couple of items on my bicycle bucket list.  What's on yours?