Weather Gods and Unwise Decisions

The Weather Gods had a laugh at my expense on Saturday when they unceremoniously dumped about a million gallons on my head without warning.

Speaking of water, I decided to ride along the river to check out the flood damage only to discover that it was closed because of raw sewage contamination. Well that makes sense I thought and turned to cross the bridge back toward home. That's when I saw them. Despite signs warning to stay out of the river, there was a group of people doing baptisms in the muddy water. I'm all for ritual and such but there's a reason they put those signs up.

MTB Style Commute

The recent rains have left quite a bit of mud and dirt on the roads. As a result my bike currently looks like crap. This is one of those times where I really wish I had an IGH on the commuter. Needless to say this weekend cleaning and adjustment will be on the to do list.

Sad News

It appears a man may have drowned wading across the same flooded bridge I considered crossing Monday. Remember, pay attention to your instincts they're there to keep you alive.

A Ride to Remember

Showing more enthusiasm than sense, I rode yesterday in the worst rain Atlanta's seen in quite a while. The trip into work was wet but uneventful, the trip home on the other hand was like no other.

By 3:30 flooding had taken place in many lowing lying areas, and I found potential routes home blocked by not one but two overflowing creeks. I briefly considered attempting to wade across a flooded bridge but thankfully disregarded the idea. Then there was a mudslide being dutifully cleared by a single police officer armed only with a shovel, a couple of dead ends as I attempted to find a new route, and three wonderful car drivers who stopped to see if I wanted a ride.

Two hours later I reached home wet, exhausted, and smiling.

A Cyclist Best Friend in the Rain

More important than even fenders, a bright yellow poncho or rain cape. If you think drivers normally ignore cyclists throw in some rain and you're practically invisible.

Flued

My home has been hit by the flu. Starting with my youngest kid and working its way up to me. The good news the symptoms are really pretty mild, a general crummy feeling, head congestion, and sleeping 22 hours a day. So be on the lookout and don't ignore the symptoms lest you spread it to someone else.

Yet Another Reason to Commute By Bike

It makes it harder for the the man to keep tabs on you.

Seriously people, what happened to my country?

Good Idea/Bad Idea

A special thanks to B. Beck who explained that the Faster Mustache 24 was responsible for the wrong way riders on Piedmont. And while I approve of the FM24 as a great idea at a great time of year, I think the wrong way riders should get the equivalent a stern lecture from all of us who know better.


As a commuter I've seen dozens if not hundreds of wrong way riders on my commute over the years and when possible I've told them about the proper way to ride. But if we in the larger cycling community can't follow the rules what hope is there of getting a casual rider to?

So for the record FM24 good.

Wrong way riding bad.

How I Nearly Killed a Cyclist

Saturday night I was driving the family to Fox Brothers for some delicious BBQ, when a cyclist comes through a red light to make a left hand turn not 10 feet in front of me. Now I was pleased as punch to see so many cyclists but I was less pleased by some of the recklessness I saw, including someone coming full speed off of 14th street and heading south on Piedmont against one way traffic.

And that's my old man rant of the day.