Yes, folks, Hell, (as in the hot place, Hades, the realm of Pluto, Satan's Kingdom) yeah, that place has frozen over. The old devil himself is now wearing and overcoat, scarf and mittens. Why??? Because I hate riding my bike on the bike path.
A year and a half ago, if you had told me that I would prefer to ride on the road over the bike path, I would have answered with "sure, when hell freezes over". Well, I prefer to ride on the road, so hell must have frozen over. I used to be a regular on my hybrid on the Farmington Valley Greenway. I would go from Farmington up to the Mass line pretty much all on the path. Loved it. I couldn't think about riding on the road, too scary.
Then, I got on the road. I didn't care for it at first and I would do some parts of my training rides on the path, unbeknownst to Coach. But when Coach Henry found out, he pretty much told me I couldn't go on the path anymore. I remember his booming voice ( he could play God in a movie with that voice).."Stay OFF the path!". His advice was worth listening to, and he had plenty of cause to tell me this 1) I needed to be training for Tahoe, and Tahoe is a road. I need to be used to traffic, and following the rules of the road and how to keep myself in a safe position while sharing the road with cars. and 2) hills. I needed to be training on hills and the Greenway, as most Rails to Trails, is very flat and doesn't offer much in the way of a variety of terrain. And, we all know, just like riding on roads, because that is what you will be faced with during your event, you also want to train on hills because that is what you will be faced with during your event. Train for terrain harder than you event is, so that when you come to the event, it is a POC (piece of cake).
So, kicking and screaming I forced myself to ride on the road, I convinced myself that I could tolerate it to appease Henry and get myself ready for Tahoe, but I would never, ever, like it. It would always be scary, there would always be cars that were going too fast, and coming too close. I would never like it or feel comfortable.
My ride tonight was pretty much just to get some air and a little exercise after work. My shoulders were sore from work (really poor ergonomics), and I didn't want to go too far, just a relaxing little ride. So, I went out to Collinsville and heading up Rt 179 I decided to turn off and try out the newest part of the bike path. A section that runs from Collinsville through to the Canton end of Lovely street. It is beautiful, picturesque, very green and lush... and flat. The first thing that got my goat, were the stop signs. Too many of them. You couldn't gain any speed, because you had to stop for a cross street every few yards. I think technically you are supposed to dismount and walk your bike across these crosswalks (oops). The second thing that got to me were the pretty brick inlays on both sides of these crosswalks. Very pretty they were, but also a little slippery to my skinny little tires. (I wish my butt was as skinny as my tires, but I digress.) Maybe it was due to the recent rain, who knows.
Another thing that I didn't like were the people. I am sure they are very nice folks, but here is the guy, all the way to the left, and here is his dog all the way to the right, with his 10 foot leash draped across the path like a clothesline. Okay, how many times did I announce myself before he crossed the path to be on the same side as his dog? At least 3. Then there is the couple, who heard "on your left" and thought it meant move left. Okay. The kids on skateboards, people jogging with their heads down -- I bet they find a lot of money that way, but they sure aren't aware that a bike is coming at them from the opposite direction! All of them interrupted my pacing. I was actually uncomfortable riding there, and I didn't like it, and slow!?!?! Oh my goodness, slower than a snail crawling uphill on ice (well maybe not that slow). I couldn't wait to get back to Rt 179 and continue on my way to Job Lot. Now don't get me wrong, the bike trail is really well done, and so needed in this area. It is a beautiful place to walk and sit on a bench to think and meditate, and maybe it is even the perfect place to ride a hybrid and enjoy nature. But, it is not for me, not anymore. So, after my ride out to Lovely Street (where they put in a beautiful pergola and meditation benches), I turned and went back to Rt 179, back to the cars going by and the dust being kicked up in my face. Back to where I am comfortable on my bike. So, Satan, I hope you are enjoying your cold snap. I know I am.
No comments:
Post a Comment