cyclist vs. auto: the auto will always win.

I just rode my bike from the house down to the lake, around, and back; probably about 15 miles total. It took me about an hour and a half. Not bad! Especially considering that for most of the 3 mile (each way) journey to the lake, I ride on the sidewalks because the streets are a little bit too busy/too major for me to feel comfortable riding a bike on. Proving that point, I had two separate people honk at me as they drove past. I cannot understand why people in cars feel the need to honk at cyclists. Assholes. Do they think it’s funny? It can startle us and can cause us to lose control of our bicycles. And if you ride on the street, drivers often don’t change lanes to pass you — they’ll drive by within a foot or two of you on your bike.

The closer you get to the lake, the more understanding the drivers seem to be; I guess because it’s more common to see cyclists on the roads near the lake. Once I got to Northcliff I started riding on the street, both because it is a smaller quieter street, and it is closer to the lake and has more of the bicycle-friendly atmosphere.

The other thing about riding on the sidewalks is that not all the curbs have ramps. I’m not the kind of gal who feels comfortable popping a wheelie to get up onto the sidewalk from the street, so I have to stop and manually do it. That is kind of a pain.

I could probably have made better time if not for the lack of curb ramps. I don’t even know if that’s what they’re called but you know what I mean.

I didn’t know this was going to become a rant about automobile/cyclist etiquette. I really was just going to say that I rode 15 miles today, and ran about 2.5 – 3 miles at the lake yesterday morning.

Also, in case you were wondering, I’m not operating under any illusions that my mileage and workout results are of any interest to anyone but myself. I do want to keep track of it, though, so this is as good a place as any to write it down.

Time to go make dinner. I made asiago cheese buns this afternoon, as well as some pasta salad to use up some leftover veggies and pasta. I think we’re having sloppy joes for dinner, and I’m taking pasta for lunch tomorrow.

I think I’m going to run at lunch on Tuesday instead of after work, because I want to come straight home so I can start working on dinner. I’m cooking for Kathryn and Brett as a birthday gift to her.

Tomorrow is Yvonne’s birthday. Her party is Saturday, but maybe she’ll want to celebrate one night this week at Times Ten Cellars — I have free drink tickets to use up!