the Way of the Turtle

GO RIDE IN TRAFFIC!
9 Mile Ride on the Streets of Colonie, Guilderland, & Albany
Thursday, August 23, 2012

Unless, of course, you don't have to... other than during du's and paddle tri's, I've done very limited riding in traffic over the last couple of years - I much prefer bike paths where the unpredictable objects are similar in size to me. This morning I dropped the car off for some work which would definitely take most of the day - so I brought my bike with me to ride home. On the plus side - the shop doing the work is near the location where I used to teach karate, and for a while I was riding to and from there regularly, while trying to keep my old Subaru alive long enough to find a new car. So I had a pretty good idea of the least dangerous route to take, though it's complicated a bit by all the construction past and ongoing over on Fuller Rd and near SUNY Albany.

Overall, I found driving in traffic pretty nerve-wracking... fortunately much of the route I took is pretty quite in the morning, so there were only a few stretches where I had cars and trucks blasting by me. I do wish I'd thought to pack my camera - one part of the route runs through Six Mile Waterworks Park (a part of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve) and later in the ride I rode past Buckingham Lake, and both would have been good spots to get some pictures at times when I wouldn't usually be there (ie. mornings!)

Of course, unless I decide to run back over to pick up the car - I get to repeat the process either later today or tomorrow morning. No question, I'll be glad to be back to riding bike paths when this is all over... though I am thinking I might try to ride to work 2-3 days a week this fall, if I can get my backside moving early enough to have time to change clothes when I get there.

JMH