took a short spin after work around town

after work I took a short spin around town

initially I planned on doing a post work ride ending at dean's soccer practice
with the light rain and the threat of more rain to come soccer practice was canceled
I stuck with my initial plan of doing a light ride around town
only with a different trrajectory

today I had ridden the rigid monkey
had been a while since I had spun around on the monkey
wanted to see how the various parts I slapped on the night prior fit on the bike

the fat front tire may have had too much air to really get the squish that the WTB Weirwolf 2.55 was meant for
but... this ride was around town
the morning I snailed down the stairs in Malcom X
the slow speed was more an issue of a needed tweek to the front brake
not enough braking power could make for an ugly encounter with a pedestrian, a jogger, or a person with a dog
the ride into work did not allwy time for adjustments
a fix of that front brake occurred within the first few blocks of this evening's post work ride

even with the fat front tire I went with a solid feel than squish
figured I wanted a more firm front end
more cornering between cars in my day than rolling over obstacles
if there were dirt in the forcast I could let some air out
heck with the pump in the bag I could let the air our and then max things out for the spin home
but... even with the few extra minutes early out of work and my commuter headlamp on the bars I did not consider rolling all the way out to fort dupont

so I rolled mellow with the camera dangling around my neck
with no particular destination I let the flow of traffic carry me across town
before I knew it I had looped from georgetown to capital hill
it is a natural trajectory
the flow of traffic spit at times for various exits

the ride had started slow
but the ride was brought to a moderately hectic level early on
partly because I tired to catch a messenger for a photograph
partly because it is best to move the speed of the moving cars
it is best to keep moving
even if the car hits a higher maximum speed
the bicycle maintains an actual higher average speed

this bicycle's maximum speed was not fast enough to hang with larry
this bicyclist's legs may not be have the maximum speed to hang with larry
either way
he was gone and I was left over spinning the monkey in rush hour traffic

the cars in the city had a panic to them
that gotta start my weekend panic
than gotta get away from work as fast as I can panic
and well... I was surronded by them
their panic had an effect on how I chose to ride
their panic had an effect on how I would have to ride if I were to stay alive

my mind focused on the variables
with my elbows sharpened
I kept my lets spinning and my trajectory changing
all that madness which is the selfishness of the city

illegally double parked cars impeeding traffic
car stalled to take an illegal left turn slow traffic
these cars work as picks to slow the flow of traffic
but not the flow of me
I anticipate and move around the obstacles
knowing long in advance where it would be best to be if I want to ride safe and fast

with the slow gear for dirt I was overspinning things
cars accelerated past me then got stuck in the bottle neck
I flowed past each car
cutting the lanes
watching for the closing gap
watching for the unwarned lane change
watching for anything and everything
knowing what a car is going to do before the driver themselves knows

that left turn signal
I can tell by the hands on the steering wheel and the attention of the driver that that car is taking a right hand turn from the middle lane

cab stopping to pick up a fare
I saw the person hailing the cab from a block past
long before any chance of getting pinned between the cab and the curb I am on the left side of the right lane
the cab pulls over and stalls cars behind me

most cars caught so far behind that I never saw them again

out of respect I over spun the monkey to try and keep pace and let the cars behind me know I am moving and I am trying

in open stretches I held my ground
holding the whole lane at times
the blocked traffic ahead gave me the feeling that the cars may as well hang behind
rather than let the pass fast and close only to be another car stuck in front of me
no... I raced the cars to the stacks of blocked cars
feeding between the cars and making the lights
going when it was safe and clear
stopping on greens for red light runners
running red lights when free and clear

the reaction and response of the drivers this evening was typical of most rides around town
there was an unspoken conversation with the drivers of most of the cars
and well... I did not like what they were saying
and well... they were not listening to what I was saying

how do they not get it
even on my slow bike geared for off road I was more efficient in this cluster f_ck
oh... how many times did I break the vow of silence and shatter the unspoken conversation for a rude utterance?
there is a good chance that I shouted c_nt more times this evening than most people say in a lifetime

it was a good ride
just what I needed
the light dropped fast with the cloudy sky
the haze and humidity mixed with the clouds to make one large gray mass
no sunset from where I pedaled this evening
the light slipped away fast
the light slipped away and the rain picked up

a threatening mist became actual rain

the light and the wetness removed any chance of a photograph being taken
heck... the energy of my ride removed any chance of a photograph being taken
the small gear removed the chance of turning around and reeling in anyone but the slowest of cyclists

I rode with the camera in hand
sheltering the device from the rain
then the camera went into my shirt
finally the rain was enough and the light was so far gone that I stopped and put the camera in the bag

at this same intersection I ran int a friend of a friend
I was all jazzed from my ride and had a little cabin fever from working in the salt mines
chatty cathy possessed me
I rode slowly as he walked
it was nice to take the slow roll

there were lots of cyclists out
there were lots of people out

I felt a little funny when I realized how chatty I had been
it happens
I can get chatty

the blog is a place where I can get chatty so I do not need to get chatty on others

no energy to proof this
there may not be any sense to this post
there are some images on the camera
on this ride I did stop for one set of pictures
and I have the phots from where I saw larry and tried to chase him down
as well as some pictures from earlier in the day