Rush Hour Sucks (for drivers)

I was able to get my bike ride in this afternoon.  My wife was able to leave work early, which was nice since storms were in the forecast for this evening, and I took the opportunity to get a ride in. 

It started off nicely and I realized quickly that the air temperature was pleasantly cooler than what is has been recently.  I also realized early on that the air was very thick with moisture and possibly smog which made my breathing somewhat labored.  I tried to ignore it and just pedaled on.

I kept checking the Garmin to see my stats as to how far I have come, how fast my average speed is, etc. and I noticed about 6 miles in that my average speed is over 20 mph.  That was a first.  My fastest recorded average speed has been around 17 mph so I got excited.  It is always nice when you can literally see my hard work paying off.  At that point I was determined to have a good ride.

The route I chose to take took me around the town that I live in.  For about the first half of the ride I was riding the opposite way that the majority of the traffic was traveling at this time of day.  The second half is a different story.

Most of the ride took place on 4 lane roadways (no bike lanes in my area which is just stupid) so the cars had a little bit more room to dodge me.  Most of them did quite well, others I am worried did not see me at all.  I always have to think when that happens, “at least they didn’t hit me.”  Perhaps that is not the best attitude to take, but it is what keeps me going.

At one point a dog that has it’s head stuck out of a car window starts barking at me.  “SHIT!”  And then as I empty out my shorts I start to calm down.  “Only a dog, no need to freak out.” 

The rest of the ride I realized that I was going about as fast as the speed of the traffic that was very heavy at this hour.  Fortunately though, no more scary surprises so all in all it was a great workout!  Check out the stats here.  Next up I will attempt to get a run in early tomorrow morning.