Spring Biking Hazards

Well I guess spring has sprung. It was 82 degrees when I left for home this afternoon, and yes there was some sweat. But with spring comes a whole new batch of biking hazards.

Traffic

Spring is nice but there's something about it that makes people go absolutely crazy behind the wheel. It usually lasts until the real summer heat hits. Maybe it has to do with riding with the windows down.

Construction

Yes construction goes on all the time here in Atlanta, but spring always brings its share of new projects. Within a week or two there will be new detours and flagmen causing headaches for your favorite bicyclist.

Pollen

Ah yes, the true yellow menace. Pollen here in Georgia is something that has to be seen to be believed. On windy days you can see great clouds of the stuff in the air.

The Bradford Pear

I don't know who brought this monstrosity to the US, but they deserve to be shot. Planted by the hundreds of thousands by overzealous builders who wanted flowering trees, the Bradford pear has a fragrance that wikipedia describes as sickly sweet. Most people will tell you however that they smell of fish. There's about a thousand of these suckers between me and work.