just a few quick words

just a few quick words before I run an errand before grabbing the kids from school...

so... with Charm City just a few days away I realized that I need to get on the bike
I have really lost focus on the bike since I broke my bike during the Cranky Monkey mountain bike race at Schaeffer Farms
in fact...
there has not been a single effort to get on dirt
nor has there been any ride that would qualify as anything close to epic or insane
most of my riding has been with the kids

so... with a few minutes vacant in my day I got on the bike
got on the bike for what would be about an hour
wanted to try to get a solid effort in to see how I am able to maintain
so... I got on the bike and started to hammer in Rock Creek Park
focused more on the flat tried to avoid the hills

the bike and body felt pretty good
not having any cyclists around me allowed me to live the fantasy that I was moving fast on the bike

the ride was without drama
as I rode I made a mental note of the number of cars that passed me while on the cell phone
sure they may have passed wide
but they passed fast with the phone pressed to their ear
those without the phone pressed to their ear spoke into their hands free device while using their hand
which of course... would fall under the driver distraction law

there were a few drivers that passed without a cell phone in hand
but these drivers were definitely the minority
within the minority there were a few drivers without cell phones in their hands that were driving while on their laptop computers
definitely a distracted driver

as my ride came to its less than climatic end I was hammering down Beach Drive at a good pace
the slight grade downhill added to give me a little push
as I passed the point where the gate closes off Beach Drive to traffic on Weekends and Holidays I took my turn in front of the car approaching from the right
then I watched to my left to be certain that the car did not make a left turn in front of me
or worse yet... make a left turn on top of me

still hammering pretty good I could feel the rev of the engine behind me
I could feel them try to make a pass but withdraw their effort to avoid the head on collision with on coming traffic
then with the road straight with the light at Park Road-Tilden Road in front of me the car made a wickedly fast pass

the little sports car accelerated with such intensity that it overran the stop line by the full car length
I pulled up to the left of the driver side window and commented, "that made a lot of sense"
to which I got the immediate rebuttal, "get on the bike path"

well... this is not the first time that I gotten into it with a car driver
being an extrovert I mistakenly talk sometimes without slowing to think
in his response the thought that I should be on bike path I told him that he should be on the highway or better yet the race track

then... just as he was about to respond back I spoke again

look... I do not need to hear anything more from you
your fast pass was ineffective and obnoxious
you managed to break three laws simultaneously
which is enough to get your license revoked

you broke the speed limit
you crossed the double yellow line
then here you ran the red light by failing to stop at the stop line
this my friend is reckless driving

okay... I embellished there... I did not call him "my friend"

then... before he could respond... because I did not want to hear it I took the turn up Park Road
the light was red but there was no on coming traffic so I moved forward

then as I started up the hill the light behind me turned green
the man in the little sports car flipped me off

I tried to let the notion that he is in a car and I am on the bike
but I could not help myself
I cussed back and him
then he back at me

I know... I know... I know
this does not help the relationship between cars and bikes
but... the adrenalin was going and this guy was a total tool
I regretted my actions
knowing that it did not help his feeling about bicycles on the road
I regretted my actions because I feared that this guy would run me over next time he were to see me on the bike

off to get my kids from school...