Hey, that's terrific! When I ride by myself I try to make eye contact with drivers. I smile a lot and occasionally wave. It seems to make for good Karma as I have yet to have any nasty incidents. Wear bright colors too. I tend to ride where I know the roads pretty well - either from driving them or biking them. Knowing the road seems to help with anticpating any problems - blind corners, driveways, incoming roads etc. Although I did go out exploring one day and that was lot of fun too.

I have started riding with a local club either by myself or Thom and I join them on the tandem. That's really been great. They push me (us) to ride a little faster than normal in a good way. They are also really cool about looking out for the group. It's introduced me to some roads that I now feel comfortable on by myself.

It's funny I've been thinking about getting back into mountain biking. I didn't really care for it when we started riding 12 years ago. I think I wasn't strong enough, I know I lacked confidence. I was so happy when we put slicks on the mountain bikes and never put the knobbies back on. Now I look at all the trails around here and think, "Wow, what a great way to get out into nature."

Veronica