Monday

This morning started out well. The weather was nice and my bike was working again after taking advantage of the long weekend to do some maintenance. I was able to get my rear derailleur to shift properly by merely tightening the cable.

I wasn't bothered too much by the typical morning headwind. It seems I expect it now. At around Irving Park I crawled past a commuter on a mountain bike. I croaked a greeting but got nothing in response. Oh well.

Near Diversey a commuter on a road bike blew by me and I glided into his slip stream. This guy was really moving. At around North Avenue he slowed to de-snot and noticed me leaching his air. So I took the lead hoping to redeem myself. The pace and the wind pretty much kicked my ass. Soon thereafter he took the lead again and I stuck with him until he needed to re-de-snot. I took the lead again and continued the charade until he probably figured enough was enough. He glided past and I stayed on him until the incline at Ohio Street Beach. I prayed for a red light at Grand Avenue so I could take a break. No such luck. Fortunately he turned off and left me to limp up the hill on my own. It wasn't until Roosevelt Road that I regained my pace.

I faced a red light with no cross traffic at Roosevelt and Clark. I inched slowly through while making sure there were no cars coming up a blind spot. Much to the smug amusement of a waiting bus driver and his passengers, I managed to catch my toe on my front fender and catch it on the wheel. I taco'ed it quite nicely and had to drag it out of traffic. About four minutes later I managed to bend it back into shape and get on with my ride.

While passing St. Ignatius High School, I managed to piss off a parent dropping off her kid. She clearly signaled to park but I thought I could whizz by her and avoid having to veer into traffic. I was nearly sandwiched into the curb but managed to startle her to a stop with a sharp rap on the fender. I pedaled off quickly feeling like a jerk.

All in all, not a good way to start the week.

Distance Traveled: 24.3 miles
Distance to date: 1365.1 miles
Price of gas: $2.41