Tuesday, April 04, 2006

It's sprung

Date: April 4
Mileage: 23
Ride type: Commute
April mileage: 47
Year to date mileage: 753

I rode all the way in this morning in street clothes, and was it cold. I was only planning on going to the Minnehaha LRT station so I was wearing a vest with a short sleeved shirt underneath. Bare arms, brrrr. But when I got there, the train was just pulling away. I didn't have the patience to sit and wait for the next one so in I went. I'm not normally a type A impatient person like that. Honest.

This afternoon was a big change. It was beautiful. It's really spring. There were several signs today.
Most welcome sign of spring - the handle is back on the pump I stopped and emptied my water bottle and refilled it with this magic elixer drawn from the ground. Mmmm, minerally goodness.

Least welcome sign of spring - Rollerbladers! I saw two of them, teenaged girls, skating along in some state of semi-control. It seems there's two types of rollerbladers. The first and more numerous are the ones who look like they're about to fall down every second. These folks are so concerned with staying upright and not breaking open their kneecap that they loose all track of where they are and who is riding or walking around them. The second type is the type that looks like they were born with rollerblades on their feet. They roll down the path effortlessly, pushing with incredibly long strides. The problem for cyclists is that these incredibly long strides are also incredibly wide. It's like their legs go out three feet to the side in both directions. I always get nervous passing either type of 'blader because I know I'm just a moment away from a violent collision.

Other signs of spring I'm too lazy to categorize -

Shorts. I wish I would have worn them like most of the runners and other bikers. I regretted putting on my tights.
Tuffy - Apparantly I was spotted by Tuffy while riding down the river road this afternoon. From what I've seen, Tuffy's not a winter riding kind of guy. Must be spring.
Sunshine! Today was my first post-DST change commute. The sun was wonderful.

The weather tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same, so if you're riding on the river road around 5-5:30, expect to see me on my multicolored Schwinn. Though you may be distracted by the glaring whiteness of my uncovered legs. Don't be afraid. At least they're not shaved.

3 comments:

Tuffy said...

Tuffy - Apparantly I was spotted by Tuffy while riding down the river road this afternoon. From what I've seen, Tuffy's not a winter riding kind of guy. Must be spring.

More accurately, Tuffy's not a commuter, so he doesn't feel the need to freeze he small (but cute) arse off during the winter months.

See you again soon...

Lunatic Biker said...

God, what an ego. Tuffy's like a made guy so I'd have to get permission from 50 Grit to have him whacked. Sorry Pete, didn't mean to hijack your comments section.

Doug said...

Rollerbladers I don't like are the ones that you are coming up on from behind and their strides are taking up the entire width of the path....plus they're listening to an Ipod or radio and can't hear you screaming "On your left"! Very frustrating (and that's the nice way to say it).