ipadio: Audio Post – A Great Memorial Day with Family… – 24th phonecast

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Memorial Day 2010…

Spent today with my Colorado family. What a great day we had. Had not been able to visit with Brandy yet, so today was a super good day for me. Anyway, here are some pics…

Memorial Day 2010 –

This is the first time we’ve been able to see each other since I rode to Colorado. I woke up at 4:30 this morning because I knew she was due here at ten!!!

My daughter, Brandy, on Memorial Day 2010

My daughter, Brandy, and my son-in-law, Dave –

They’ll have been married five years–already–in July. He’s a great guy. Know how I can tell? Brandy is happy.

My daughter, Brandy, and my son-in-law, Dave.

Brandy –

My daughter, Brandy, on Memorial Day 2010 –

From left to right: Darryl, Andi, Brandy, Dave. This is my Colorado family and I love them all.

Memorial day 2010.

Riding in traffic…

Hmmm…What to say about this subject, which has been written about on so many other blogs, by people who’ve been doing this a lot longer than I have?

The Denver metro area was recently rated one of the top 50 cities in the country for road riders, by Bicycling Magazine, due to all the bike trails, bike lanes, and a “bike-friendly” atmosphere. Well, the suburb of Aurora hasn’t heard about it, that I can guarantee.

If anyone out there does even the least little bit of research on riding safety, they’ll discover that the safest place to ride is…WITH THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC…IN THE ROAD. Sidewalks are for WALKING, and are death-traps for cyclists; besides being illegal to ride upon here.

Yet, I am constantly bombarded with oral graffiti from passing motorists telling me I should be on the sidewalk, just because they had to slow for me. Hear this people; I AM RIDING A LEGAL VEHICLE, IN A LEGAL MANNER, AND HAVE JUST AS MUCH RIGHT TO THE TRAFFIC LANE AS YOU DO. Yes, it’s true folks, a bicycle is merely a slower, human-powered form of transportation which has every right to be in the traffic lane, as long as it does not impede the flow of traffic to an unsafe extent.

SO LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE YOU IDIOTS.

I mean, come on…Do I really need to be yelled at by a guy in a four-wheel drive behemoth, with the knobby tires I can hear from miles away? Really Bubba, who’s at home watching the trailer, the pit bulls? Or how about the gray-haired old ladies who love to buzz me, driving within a foot of my left hip? Are they all just blind, or do they believe they have to let me feel the wind of their passing because they think I shouldn’t be there…on their road?

Really, at 1:30 in the afternoon, in the suburbs, what could be so important to these fools that they get so angry with me for being in their way? Maybe, if they were paying better attention to the road ahead of them, instead of singing along to their CD’s or talking on their cell phone, they wouldn’t get stuck behind an old man on a bike.

Believe me folks, I grew up in southern California, where driving like an ass is a right of passage for every teenager. I’ve done my share of stupid things behind the wheel of a car. But I have never, not ever, put a cyclist in jeopardy just because I thought the road belonged only to me. Cyclists are completely exposed and defenseless against angry, foolish, oblivious drivers and we should all take extra care when we are driving near them; including cyclists who do occasionally drive.

There are laws throughout the country pertaining to how motorists should behave when encountering a cyclist on the road. Colorado recently passed the “Three Foot Law,” which should be self-explanatory, but most drivers have no clue. Please, be observant when driving and give cyclists at least three feet of clearance. Your trip is not more important to you than theirs is to them. Besides, if you slow down a bit, you might just see something cool that you’ve never noticed on that drive before; the kind of cool stuff I see all the time because of my mode of travel.

Later

Today’s Photo 2

Here is another shot, straight up, and without my left knee in the frame. It was a gorgeous day when I began. Had a really good ride of 23 miles. I pushed myself hard for the last four miles or more; it was almost a sprint. I was dripping sweat when I got home…and it felt sooooo good.

Anyway, I wish I had one of those panoramic cameras but, I don’t, so enjoy the view I’m able to supply.

Later

Today’s Photo 1

Just had to post a couple of shots of the sky and clouds from my ride today. I stopped to rest my back and, lying there looking at the clouds, I thought of how all of you never get to see the beautiful Colorado sky. Well, here it is for you to enjoy.

New theme–again…

We’re trying a new theme again. I think I like it, though we’re going to have to work on the header image a bit. I like the shades of gray. (They match my hair and beard.)

What do you think?

Later

Tomorrow…

Just a reminder that tomorrow, May 21st, is Bike to Work Day, nationwide. If you have not already begun riding this month or this week, I encourage you to give it a try tomorrow.

Why? Do it for yourself, that’s why.

Please don’t think you should do it to help “save the Earth,” or because it’s “socially responsible.”

Do it because you’ll enjoy yourself; because you’ll feel a real sense of joy and accomplishment; because you are selfish and want to give yourself a good time while going to work and returning home. That’s right; let yourself be selfish and enjoy your commute to and from work tomorrow.

I ride for me; you should ride for you.

It is the height of hubris and arrogance to think we need to “save the Earth,” from ourselves. Don’t fall for that. You will save money, however. Riding is much cheaper than driving. You’ll also make many drivers envious of your daring and chutzpa. But really, you’ll just feel good when you get there.

That’s enough reason for me.

Later

Back we go…

Well, the votes are in; Brandy didn’t like it, so…

New theme…

We’ve recently changed the theme here; ie., the look of the blog. Has anyone noticed? What do you think?

Quite a view…

This is the view I enjoy nearly every day as I ride west toward Denver. That is Mt. Evans in the distance.

Don’t you wish you were here?