Thursday, March 23

Morning:
Temp around 37 - pretty good ride on the crycycle. Very fast ride, but tons of speeding traffic on Mem Drive. Glad the sun is out. Check out the dude in the photo - I came up behind him in The Dragon and blew past him - but as I went by, I saw that he was wearing a full-face Shoei motorcycle helmet. Preposterous! I had to stop and wait till he passed by so I could snap a pic.

Evening:
Great ride on the crycycle tonight. I ruled the Cheese Grater. With the promise of Spring in the air, I put aside my childish fears of being doored and blazed the Grater! I have to admit to being goaded into it by my competitive spirit. A fellow crycyclist just behind me outdid me at the Sinkhole by taking the Outcrop, while I chose my usual route. Right at the confluence of the two routes I found that he was ahead of me! Not Happening! I put a little pep in my step and caught up to him just as he was bailing to the sidewalk at Wadsworth Street for his trip up Mem Drive. The sidewalk?!! Not me, not Uneasy Rider - tonight it's the Cheese Grater. Well, gentle readers, I blazed. I left him in his sidewalk-riding dust. At the end of the Victory Ride section of the Grater I even caught the Mass Ave walk sign which meant my momentum went unchecked till I hit the lights at Beacon St. Anyway, any good part of a ride is always ultimately spoiled by the unavoidable, and in tonight's spotlight is what I call "Hammer Time" (see photo). This is at the outlet of the Dragon, crossing Comm Ave to Beacon - the roadway becomes so rough for about 75 yards that you've got to either post on your cranks, or suffer the 4,000 blows to a rather sensitive area. The reward for all this courage and fortitude?