Commute 1/9/08

Time of departure: 7:50
Temperature: 64F

Yeah, it's 64F in the middle of January. There's a strange weather pattern that happens in this area about this time every year, where there is a nasty cold storm followed by a few days of balmy, spring-like weather, and then back to winter. On the one hand it is nice to be able to ride without a heavy coat, on the other it is almost too warm and I might need to start changing clothes if it stays like this. It also increases the likelihood of rain over other forms of precipitation, and between a light rain and light snow, I'd rather have the snow.

The ride was pretty uneventful. I can tell that we're out of the vacation period though because there are a lot more cars on the road this week than last week. The place I use to judge the traffic load is a corner a few blocks from the office. The street I ride crosses a street that becomes a minor N/S expressway at that corner, and the backup for cars turning right onto the expressway indicates how far into the commute I am. If I leave early in the morning and hit it at 7:00 there aren't many, maybe one or two right at the corner, like any other major street intersection. If I'm running a little late and hit it after 8:00 it's a whole different story, with cars stretched back 2-3 blocks to the post office. The problem there is that the turners clog the lane that goes straight, so I end up between the traffic lanes and have to watch my right to make sure there isn't someone in that lane going straight when I try to slide back over to curbside.