Monday, April 24

Morning:
Beautiful Spring day! about 45, raw, slight drizzle, wind, cloudy. Just beautiful! Anyway, see photo for the fruits of my weekend labors. Yes, that smart looking front tire is brand new. Check out the red stripes. I spent a good deal of Sunday wrestling with bike tires. I had to move the good front tire to the rear wheel and put the new tire on the front. My thumbs are in casts now.

Evening:
I received an interesting suggestion on my ride home. While I was crossing the Mass Ave bridge, a woman riding in the passenger seat of a white mini-van shouted to me "why don't you get on the damn f***ing pavement!". I was going to try to catch up to her to point out that I was already on the "damn f***ing" pavement, but then I figured out that what she meant to say was "the damn f***ing sidewalk!" Anway, this kind of thing doesn't really bother me - I take it as a good thing, actually, because it means that they are seeing me. Being seen, being visible is 80% of the battle when riding a bike. I've had pedestrians and drivers look directly at me seconds before stepping/driving directly into my path. My newest riding-related aquisition (a gift for my 21st birthday) goes a long way toward stacking the deck in my favor. See photo - this jacket is freakishly bright - you cannot possibly miss anyone wearing this jacket. I was wearing it at work earlier and someone begged me to remove it because it was giving her a headache. In light of that, I can only surmise that it was my jacket that promted the woman in the mini-van to make her crude suggestion.