Bike To Work Week

Today was the final day of Bike to Work Week. I had a nice treat for my ride today: I got to ride with Sox! My mom was looking ater the kids at home, so Sox was able to ride to work. It was a short ride to downtown, but then I was off to Oak Bay.

The ride home was pretty uneventful too. Just the way it should be.

My mileage this year was nothing like last year, but it was sure good to actually spend some time on my bike. Some day I will actually install those fenders that I bought a long time ago. That would have helped keep me dry this week.

The ride to work today was a normal ride. It was quite cloudy out, and since all my gear got soaked last night, I had to wear my riding pants.

Some time in the afternoon the sun came out and it warmed up a little. The ride home was actually quite pleasant, but I was on the verge of overheating.

Unfortunately I came across a few morons.

The first was a near car collision as I was about to get on the bridge. I saw an older mercedes approaching the yield sign, but it showed no signs of slowing down. I slowed down but the car in front of me didn't really slow down. The Mercedes cut in front of the car in front of me then suddenly hit the brakes and stopped. All traffic was stopped and I had to jam on the brakes to avoid running in to the cars. Watch what you are doing people.

The next moron was right as I neared Tyee while riding up Esquimalt Ave. It is a decent hill, and this douche guns it to get past me with his right turn signal on. This guy wasn't paying attention though. I saw it before he did, but the right turn lane was full since the cross traffic had the right of way. The gunner had to slam on the brakes and just managed to not rear end a porsche. This meant he was blocking my way up Esquimalt Ave. I gave him the thumbs up as I rode by slowly.

The last idiot was a real dork. As I was climbing the final hill near my home a guy in a minivan passes me then honked at me. Quickly he made a right turn in front of me, not using his right turn signal. Nice maneuver. Why the honk though? Don't do that.

Biking today was not too bad. The ride in was pretty easy albeit a little cold. No major traffic issues.

On the home stretch to work I could see a lot of cyclists in Oak Bay. I was a little confused at first, then I noticed the Bike to Work people had a celebration station at the Oak Bay municipal building. I was tempted to stop in for a coffee and muffin, but I ended up riding right past it.

At the end of the day I didn't ride home right away since I had an ulti game first. By the time the game was done, the wind was still blowing, and it was raining. I got quote soaked on the way home, and to top it off the game ran late so I took back a back route home that was a little longer.

Still, it feels good to be back on my bike. Through the summer I intend to ride quite a bit. Hopefully I can stick with that plan.

The weather was much nicer for today's bike to work. I also bumped into a friend of mine I haven't seen in a very long time. The first few minutes of the ride I could immediately feel yesterday's ride. That eased off the closer I got to work.

The ride home was a hard one though. A big head wind most of the way.

The only incident I has was on Old Esquimalt road. A car passed me with it's right turn signal on. The light was green, and it is a short one. We were also on an uphill. Right after the car passed me I saw the lady shoulder check, then slow down and stop. She looked for me out the passenger window and seemed a little confused when I didn't pass her. Enough people. Don't pass a cyclist then stop and wait for them to pass you on the right. If it is too close and you may not safely get around the corner before the cyclist, then slow down and turn behind the cyclist.

I will not pass a car on the right when they do this.

Bike to Work Week is upon us again. I rode in today despite the horrible conditions. My shorts were soaked through by the time I hit Esquimalt ave. The closer I got to work, the less rain there was. By mid day the sun was out.

The ride to work was pretty easy despite the rain. I met up with Sox before going to the office to hand off something she forgot at home.

At the end of the day the weather was still looking decent. I got a call from my son who wanted me to ride in front of the car on the way home. Not sure what that was all about, but I agreed. I was going to meet up with them at Beet's daycare, until I saw that I had a flat in my rear tire. Thankfully I had the tools and spare tube necessary to fix it. I found a bunch of glass shard embedded in the tire, and I had to scrape those out with some keys. I was on the way in no time.