day 15: go speed racer

My morning commute got spiced up a little by a(n) (imaginary) game of cat and mouse. While stopped at a traffic light, another cyclist came up behind me, scanned the road, and then took off ahead - ignoring the red light we had. Thankfully, there were no cars crossing in front of us, and he did in fact have a clear shot. When my light turned green, I proceeded on my way.

Well it turns out the two of us were headed in the same direction until I was almost to my building. I played a little mental game with myself and tasked myself with catching up to this other cyclist. What can I say, it is the inner-competitor in me. I kept my eye on him - kept tabs on the time between us by focusing on a stationary object and counting the seconds it took me to reach that object once he passed it. I was always gaining ground on the guy, except at traffic lights. He would always pause, look both ways, and then go - whether there was a red light or green light. I, on the other hand, stopped at each red light until it was green.

The moral of the story: risking a nasty collision in order to NOT sit at a red light isn't always fastest. I eventually caught up with the guy - despite my compliance with traffic laws. Maybe I am just too fast for my own good :)

On a different note: I found this awesome water stand on the way home. I don't know if these exist elsewhere or not - but it sure is a nice "backup" to not carrying enough water on those really hot days. If nothing else, it would be nice to have when going out for a training ride - if for no other reason than to avoid clunking through a gas station in full cyclo-gear to fill up a water bottle at the soda fountain. I am pretty sure there is a cost for this water, but I have seen similar stands in front of grocery stores that let you fill up something like a 5 gallon jug for 25 cents! So I imagine this water stand is similarly priced.

I am off to a concert tonight, so that is all I have to say for now. Here's to the Velorution.