Stupid Bike Tricks

I guess a cool front came through last night because this morning was relatively cool (low 70s) and quite windy. After a busy weekend there were just three of us today trading long pulls against the steady crosswind. We stayed firmly in recovery speed territory, though, mostly around 20 mph. I think maybe I need a little recovery time anyway, as I am still feeling a little tired even though the weather is fantastic today.

So I'm on my way to work this morning on the commuter, and just as I start up the Broad Street Overpass I see this clown coming down the overpass on the sidewalk on my side of the street. He's a grown man riding a child's bike. He's dragging one foot on the ground because the bike apparently lacks functional brakes. He must have had some good shoe leather and extraordinary balance because he was only going maybe 15 mph. As I go by, I am able to make out what he is holding with his right arm (he's only got one hand on the handlebars). It's a full-size car battery. The sidewalk he's on ends abruptly at street level where he'll have to drop down off of a curb and will then be spit out into the middle of two lanes of oncoming traffic. I didn't look back to see what happened, but I didn't hear a "thud" or the squealing of brakes. It always amazes me that people like that survive to adulthood. I use the term "adulthood" loosely, in this case. The other thing that has always amazed me in New Orleans is the number of people I see riding bikes without brakes, usually against traffic. It must be a "cultural" thing like walking in the street instead of on the sidewalk. Go figure.

Today's The Wife's birthday. Birthday present suggestions will be happily accepted until 5:00 p.m. today!! We'll probably end up getting something for the house as usual. The Daughter called early this morning while on the road to Wisconsin to pick up a teammate whose mother will drive them to the Chicago airport for their trip to the Bahamas. This three-hour drive, each way, is apparently to avoid having to park the car at the airport for a week. Hmmmm. Oh, BTW, I was spot on with my guess as to the "surprise" at Tulane's graduation ceremonies last weekend. Ellen D. walks out in a bathrobe saying she had heard everyone would be wearing robes.