Snaps of the commute

Fun with traffic lights
I encountered this traffic light at Corwnallis and Alston in RTP this morning. One of the two policemen directing traffic told me that something had hit the center light fixture and knocked it to face the wrong street. As a result, the trio of lights alternated between red-green-red and green-red-green.

You never know what you'll see.

PS: Note to self: adjust camera's clock for standard time before the next perm...

Pamplona 200K?

I wouldn't ride my bike through streets with stampeding bulls.

I ride with careless car drivers.

A local bike instructor was killed in a bike-car wreck last year.  A rando up in DC was killed in June.  Now a local rando got thrown by a dreaded right hook (thankfully he will be fine).

I think I am in the 'honeymoon' period of road cycling, after four years of commuting and two years as a rando.  I am completely comfortable riding with cars.  No wrecks.  No falls.  No fear.

Must be vigilant...

Photo credit:  Pamplona Book Festival

The Motorcyclist Wave

Ever notice the nonchalant little sideways gesture used by motorcyclists to greet each other?  Ever wave at an oncoming motorcyclist that way?

I've been doing it the last few months.  I'm amazed at the positive reaction.  They always wave back.  They always turn and look at me.  Some do a double-take first, but they always smile.

Who knows, maybe they think I have a hog in the garage.  I just think it's friendly.

(Photo credit: link)

Fast Flow Technology

There's nothing like bad weather to improve one's preparedness.  Jayjay and I rode the new RUSA Carthage Coffee Run 200k today.  Neither of us checked the weather forecast recently, and neither brought any rain gear or extra warm clothing.  Imagine our surprise during two hours of cold rain in the early morning.  And the temperature went down from there.

We were both considering aborting until we found some hot chocolate in Sanford.  Aaah, instant relief.  Of course, the hot liquid went through me quickly, and I was looking for a place to stop within ten minutes.  I guess that's what is meant by "Fast Flow Technology" on the dispensing machine (see photo).

On the other hand, I was amazed my feet were comfortable all day in Keen sandals and wool socks.  Hmm, maybe there is some magic in all the blather I've read about wool...

On our return trip, we chose the option to ride the American Tobacco Trail.  It was really nice to avoid the traffic on NC 751, aside from the trail sections in Durham which were muddy from the morning's rain.

The Carthage Coffee Run is a great new ride.  Many thanks to Branson for putting it together.  We look forward to riding it many times again.

Raleigh Santacon, Sat Dec 4th 2010

Come wander around downtown Raleigh and trendy Glenwood Ave for an evening of frivolity with 50-100 crazies dressed like Santa, elves, reindeer, gnomes, jokers, and so on.  It's fun, even for non-drinkers like me who enjoy consuming large quantities of bar food.

The Raleigh event notice is on Facebook  For general info on these events, google 'santacon' or 'santarchy'.

Obligatory bike content:  At last year's event, about 50 Santas inside the Hibernian Pub spotted a bicycle pedicab driver outside riding in a Santa suit.  We yelled and waved and caught his attention, he parked, came inside, and joined our festivities.  I think he had a few Santas as fares later on too!

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Carthage Coffee Checkup

Jayjay and I biked the southern portion of the Carthage Coffee Run in central NC today, from the Maxi-Mart near Moncure to Carthage and back (80 miles round-trip).  We did not do it for RUSA credit, but just to scope it out.  It is delightful.  The route is easy to navigate, most of the neighborhoods and houses are immaculately appointed, most pavement is smooth as glass, and most of the rolling hills are manageable.  (and, shhh, only one dog.)

We stopped at the namesake coffee shop at the turnaround, the Coffee Court in Carthage. It is surprisingly nice inside.  We sat and dined for more than an hour since we were not on the clock.  We spoke with one waitress about signing perm cards.  She got all excited and called the staff over.  Another waitress remembered signing two cards a few weeks ago (likely Geof and Bryan's inaugural ride).  The owner welcomed us and other cyclists to come back.  Nice.

On our way back through Sanford, we happened upon the Jubi-Lee Fall Festival at the Depot Park downtown.  Again it was really nice to stop and enjoy for a little while.

We look forward to riding the full 200K length for credit soon, particularly for us because the start is so close to our homes.  We encourage other randos to try it too.

Here are a few random photos and two videos:  a one-minute descent, and some live music in Sanford.
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Cat Encounters of the First Kind

I had my first encounter with a cat while biking on Tuesday afternoon.  This one completely ignored me as I crossed its path two times, first as I was headed home, then as I circled back for a photo.  Only when I snapped the photo, and the camera made a shutter sound, did the cat look up, hiss aggressively, and run away.

Cats.