Bike Commute 2011 - Day 58 - I Feel the Need for Speed!

IN –

Whoo Boy!  My legs were fresh and I think I had a tail wind.  The lights were against me mostly, but I was pedaling hard.  Once I got to Atkinson I thought I might be able to get a new record so I hit it hard.

I left the house at 4:02 and when I got there I saw the clock change from 4:34 to 4:35.  I’m going to take it as 32 minutes travel time which is one minute faster than I have ever done it so far.

Obviously I didn’t really pay much attention to anything else.  I did notice that the moon was full and VERY bright.  I had heard that there might be rain, but as soon as I woke up and saw the light streaming in the window and knew it would be a good riding day.

HOME –

SPEEEEED!  I decided from the get-go that I was going to try to get home as fast as possible.

I had another reason for a need for speed.  I left work early because I had to attend a meeting that bridged the time when I had to leave.  Of course I didn’t leave my desk until when I should have been leaving the building.

I nearly ran through the halls to my bike and threw on my clothes.

I got out the door at 12:10.  There was a strong wind out of the NW.  Officially it was the NW, but it felt much more like it was right out of the west.

I couldn’t afford a 50 minute ride home and even a 45 minute ride would not really wouldn’t have given me enough time to cool down before calling in.

I blew through as many intersections that didn’t have traffic, but I did go to all the lights.

I came up behind a woman rider at one point.  She was riding casually, and had stopped at a stop sign.  She started going and I went past her.

Then I saw another rider in the distance.  This one struck me as another woman, though I couldn’t really see, I couldn’t even see if it was actually a rider and now a walker.  All I could see was the aqua shirt.

As I got closer I realized it was a rider.  I was closing, but the rider was still far ahead and might turn off at any intersection.

I saw the rider come up to Butterfield.  That street has a light and you are supposed to go to the actual intersection, press the button and wait for the light.

I always do this because going straight across is a matter of timing and I never catch it just right.

This rider went straight across (which I call cheating).  I had a tough ride ahead to catch up.

I got to the street and of course the traffic didn’t allow me to cheat.  I went to the light and hit the button.

When I could, I crossed and put the hammer down.

I was never really sure it was a woman.  When I caught up she was riding pretty well and I hate passing unless I’m really riding a lot faster than the person I’m passing.

I blew past her and never got a great look at her, so I’m really guessing that it was  a woman.

Right after her was a woman jogging.  I came up to her at Carmel High School.  She surprised me by turning around as soon as she got to the driveway.

I had been ready with my bell so I could pass her and in the end we nearly collided.  I did ring my bell as politely and we apologized to each other.

Mrs. Prop as Trixie

I made it home at 12:51, only 41 minutes into a headwind!

My thighs were on fire, I’m going to take it easy tomorrow.