bit of guilt

There are many aspects of riding to work that I enjoy. Among those aspects are greeting and chatting with other cyclists, smiling about our good fortune, and basking in the feeling that we're part of something bigger, something still growing. I even had a chat with a motorcycle patrolman at a stop light who was clocking motorists. Actually, he clocked me as well and mentioned that he brought his radar gun out to the Tour de Georgia. 61 MPH. My speed was considerably less. I told the officer the backpack and pannier slowed me down a bit ;-).

Out of the 20 cyclists I came across, I found one behind me that seemed to be travelling in my direction and was just keeping up with me at the intersections. Perhaps it was his smug expression when he came within sight. Perhaps it was the way he wasn't quite following the rules of the road. At the corner of Clifton and Ponce, he was riding in the crosswalk to get to the lane I was in, crossing in front of traffic that had the left-turn arrow, and maneuvering in front of the car at the head of the lane and ahead of me. My attitude muscles were getting quite a workout.

So, I made a calculated attempt to express my feelings in an honorable manner. I weighed my options and decided that yes, this was the time to drop the hammer. I usually save my legs on the downhill I launched into, but I pushed it. I usually drop out of the big ring on the next uphill, but I spun right through the entire quarter mile up. I usually enjoy the winding path on the next flat stretch but I didn't let up. It was "See ya later, bye-bye."

It felt pretty good too.

Just before reaching the house, I found a bill on the road and turned around to pick it up (a $10 bill, no less). That's when it occurred to me. The money was worth slowing down for, but a fellow cyclist wasn't.

I'll have to see what happens the next time.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 20
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather:Temps are getting to be like Summer. No wind and high 80s. Rain expected tonight.



I trust you recognize this is the letter 't' as in at&t. The new letters are going up on the building and they're not quite as big as the ones that came down. Maybe only 9500 point font.