9 straight days of bicycles

[BailOut]

I was able to squeeze in a little more biking in this 9 day period than I originally planned. I lost my 2 carpoolers a few months ago as their schedules match 100% but mine does not. They have been carpooling together since then, with one being dropped off by her husband on his way to work at the other's home.

I had one of those conservation epiphanies recently in that while our schedules don't always match up they do indeed synchronize 2 to 4 days each week (I'm still usually driving us each Tuesday as the fellow and I both have our mountain biking group that evening). The driver's house is just 3.7 miles away and a bit uphill from mine. Why not bike to his house on the days we sync and join their carpool?

I did just that this morning.

It's not all roses, though. First, I forgot my keys. I wasn't driving so I didn't think to grab them but that ring also has my office keys. Oops. Also, I was cut off in the designated and solid-lined bike lane at a right turn by a GMC Yukon XL driven by a lone woman talking on a cell phone. It was enough for me to slap the side of her vehicle twice to let her know I was there and that she did wrong (my biking equivalent of honking).

I also had the trailer with me this morning as I will be bringing home a network switch this evening that is too large to fit in a backpack. That slows things down a touch, and I got a text message from the office that I had to stop and respond to, and I had to adjust the seat once, but I still made the trip in about 19 minutes.

I am continually glad that I took that traffic skills course last week as it has made me a much more confident road rider. I had to use several of the techniques I learned in that course this morning as the route takes me through a busy highway underpass with on and off ramps (Damonte Ranch at Highway 395), in front of a huge shopping area replete with Wal-Mart and lots of coffee/juice/fast food places, through an intersection at the major north-south artery (South Virginia St.) which is also the detour for a highway merging ramp right now, through a non-stop bike lane pass through at a busy right turn (Zolezzi Lane) in and then a left turn across a busy road populated with 3 subdivision's worth of commuters (Arrow Creek at Wedge Parkway).