Oh, no, Mr. Bill! Commuting!

[Lise]

Whoa! What a ride today!

I live a whopping 3.14 miles from the clinic. I ride there almost every Wed and Fri. My Bianchi is all polished up and ready for the triathlon on Sunday, so I left her at home and took my Larkspur.

Ah, what a comfy bike. Not as sleek and speedy as the Bianchi, but I can get going pretty well. I'm so bored with my usual route...I know the neighborhoods well...I'll take side streets on the way home!

Oh NO!

In one block I had both a truck and a car decide to make Y turns in front of me. Then I encounterd a 3' deep ditch, with cars driving around it, straight at me, and then...my bungee cord broke! I keep it wrapped around the pannier rack just in case. I have no idea what happened, but once I'd cleared the multiple hazards in this one little block of quiet side street, I heard a loud THWACK! CRUNCH! and something whacked my calf just as my bike lurched to a stop.

It was the bungee cord, which had somehow undone itself from the rack, and wrapped one end around the wheel hub. Fortunately, I suppose, it snapped in half, whacking me in the leg, and certainly getting my attention. I untangled the whole thing, thanked my lucky stars that no spokes were harmed in the making of this movie, and cautiously pedalled my way to safety on a bigger street!

[Running Mommy]

WOW! The perils of living In the big city!
I guess it's a good thing I don't live back there huh??
I;m jealous though, I would LOVE to be able to ride to work. I just can't do it safely. Speeding big rigs + narrow two lane farm roads =

[tulip]

That's quite a commute, Lise! I'm glad you're okay. Bungee cords in wheels can bring you down.

I hit a big rock of some sort on yesterday's commute. It almost brought me down. I didn't see the thing. Darn dusk!

I do have a new commute route, though! It's the same distance (14 miles) but much more direct with fewer stops, turns, and traffic. I can't believe I missed it all these years, and it's right in the middle of DC! The first day I did it, I cut almost 10 minutes off of my commute!