Things that annoy me when....

Before today, I wasn't sure which to write about:
Possibility #1: The things that annoy me when I'm driving -OR-
Possibility #2: The things that annoy me when I'm riding a bike.

Well, this morning decided that for me and I'll have to save #1 for a later post.  So that means #2.  Let's just say I've had enough injuries while riding a bike.  So I thought I had solved this by: A) Mostly running, B)Riding by myself, C) Not racing (and therefore riding by myself), and D) Not riding a mountain bike.  Well, as most riders know the number one annoying thing about riding a bike (nearly equal to riding with people who are squirrely on a bike) is CARS.  And, unfortunately, you can't ride a road bike without riding around a bunch of really stupid drivers.

So this morning, I decided to take an early morning (that is, relatively early because I have trouble getting out of bed too early) short spin out to Greenspot Market and back.  On the way home, I specifically avoided riding past REV (for all you non-Redlanders that is Redlands East Valley High School), because everyone knows that teenagers are the absolute worst drivers.  So I headed up to Citrus (which in reality isn't that far from REV but at least it doesn't go directly by it), and as I ride down Citrus (note: downhill = fast) some idiot teenage driver (or it could be an equally idiot driver parent, just to be fair), takes off in front of me from the King Street stop sign to head to the school.  Should I have been 0.5 seconds later, I would have been roadkill.  I think all of the cars waiting at the stop sign (and there were quite a few) probably heard my scream of shear terror.
 
So all of you drivers out there, ONCE AGAIN!:
1.  No, our breaks do not stop us as fast as car breaks stop you... Do not pull out in front of us, or turn in front of us, or stop fast in front of us, because we will not be able to stop!
2.  Don't drive too close; Share the Road means SHARE, not drive as closely to us as you can without actually hitting us.
3.  Yes, we don't come to a complete stop and unclip at all stop signs, but slowing so as to make sure the way is safe and clear is safe riding too. We will stop fully and clip out, if needed, no problem.  And if you still don't understand this, get off your f** a** and try riding a road bike and see what a pain it is to clip out at every single stop sign in Redlands: There's a lot of them!

Okay that's my rant about cars and cycling.  I'm sure if I thought longer, I could come up with more things, but that's about the gist of it.  Stay tuned for my rant about cars and driving...

The Scene

I went back to the "scene of the crime" today (as Matt would put it).  Or rather, the scene of the end of my short but sweet mountain biking career.

Note: realatively straight and very wide.  Freak accident at it's best.  Anyway, this time I was, sadly, on foot.  I hiked/ran to the gate at the top for a total of almost 11 miles.  It was a beautiful but bittersweet day.  It reminded me of how much I miss the beauty of mountain biking.  The road (as in cycling) just doesn't hold the same feel.  But trail running definitely gives mountain biking a run for it's money.  So I'm back to keeping my two feet on the ground and enjoying my return to running.  From personal experience, Crafton Hills is a gorgeous run too; those of you who pedal it should try it.