Bike Blog

Wow, does the air conditioning at work make it tough to go outside in this humidity. I spend the whole day in basically a refrigerator (we have to keep the computers cool) and then walk out in this humidity and it feels like I’m breathing underwater.

A good ride though. I hit a lot of green lights and so kept the wind blowing through my helmet and my head cool(er). I flew through downtown. Someone recently asked me how to avoid rush hour traffic in downtown Buffalo… I guess it would be either ride a bike or wait until 4:15, because it seems like most of the government offices close at 3:30 and everyone leaves.  I’m not putting downtown down, I’m just saying, a big central megalopolis we aren’t.

At about 1.5 miles from home, someone pulled out of a parking ramp exit right into my path. I was going about 22 mph. I had to drag my sneakers on the ground to stop and avoid getting hit by her car. Her window was open, so as soon as I saw what she was doing, I started yelling “hey hey hey lady lookout”, but she didn’t get out of the way. She just looked at me like I’d dug up her rhododendrens, but she said she was sorry, she “didn’t see” me. No kidding. Good thing I’m more alert than all the automobile drivers out there.

Have you seen the international sign for “hang up and drive”? You hold your hand to your head, index finger and thumb extended in the shape of a phone, take it away from your head and hang it up on an invisible telephone base, then move your hands in the motion of a steering wheel. I had to use that sign today too.