We interrupt this bike commute for the following paid advertisement

Last Friday, I got stuck in traffic. Today, I was blocked from crossing a bridge because they were filming a commercial. On the bridge. It was a pick-up truck commercial with several over-sized black trucks parked on a diagonal, with downtown Atlanta in the background.

I despise TV commercials in general, but there's a special place at the very bottom of my list for truck commercials.

I can however, appreciate the view this bridge affords. I've got a print (shown here) that my wife and I made more than 20 years ago from that same spot. More recently, I appreciate that bridge because it gets me across a busy street when I ride my PATH route.

It's ironic that the bike route was chosen for a truck commercial.

I asked the guy if I could sneak through during a break. He said he'd be dead if he let me through. At first, this sounded like a fair trade, but I don't want to give anyone an unfavorable impression of cyclists. I wasn't going to foster goodwill if I dashed through their set.

Although I was bummed I had to cross that street using a busy four lane -- especially since I was complicitly supporting an industry that influences people to waste their money on conspicuously consumptive vehicles -- I consoled myself with the happy thought of being treated more like a vehicle than a pedestrian.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.9
Number of Cyclists seen: 24 (record so far)
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH Detour was to cross Freedom Parkway at Boulevard instead of Jackson.
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Substantially warmer. Less than half-way in, sweat dripped off my brow while waiting at a light.