The bike lanes are crowded on Wednesdays....seems like Wednesday's are the days the once a week commuters ride in and the morning when all the roadies come out. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that more people are commuting into work and leaving the cars at home. And I know it's going to be almost 100 this afternoon and the logical time to get out and do a roadie ride is in the morning.
I think it's when you mix the roadies and the commuters in together it becomes a little annoying. At every light there are at least 3 commuters and 2 roadies...this morning it was 4 commuters and 3 roadies (2 of them were a couple with the girly decked out completely in pink....her bike was pink, her helmet was pink, her shoes were pink, her saddlebag was pink, her kit was pink....I bet she even had pink lipstick on)....ummmm a little splash of pink is enough thank you.
Lights are the worst because as soon as the light turns green, there's a struggle to get in front, I usually lag back to watch everything unfold, the roadies are struggling to get their foot clipped in and not get passed and the commuters are just waiting for them to go away....some commuters (the racer commuter boys) are already 1/2 a mile ahead of everyone looking for the next person to overtake.
I always wonder why people race to work? And I wonder why it's so hard on some boys to get passed, especially by a girl, especially by a girl on a flat bar road bike with a rack and panniers, a girl decked out in non-roadie attire, no sponsorships to advertise on my back, a girl wearing a helmut that has a visor on it, a girl riding with full finger gloves, in baggies and mountain shoes. Does this make roadies mad? Or do they look at me and just think I'm a stupid commuter? Even the racer boy commuters hate it when a girl passes them, I know what happens...I catch them, I pass them, they see the rack & panniers, they see I'm a girl, then they're on my wheel again a few seconds later and they pass me. I see them pumping, I see them struggling, I can tell they're gasping for air...silly boys.
I'm kinda looking forward to the frigid temps of the winter, the traffic on the road will be down and the roadies will be inside on their rollers and the racer boy commuters will be in their cars driving to work. This is the time when the diehard commuters are out, no one in the bike lanes but us.
-Kim
