5/25/08
Did a lot of riding on Saturday. Territory Days isn't very good, just full of crowded people eating fair food. Traffic is awful, most side streets becoming one-way thorofares with duelling SUVs fighting for victory of the right-of-way. There was a shootout re-enactment sponsored by a church near Front Range Grill which amused me.

Being stuck in a crowd for about a half hour was draining and I forewent my journey into the fabled Manitou Springs. My decision was also colored by the fact that my favorite spring is undergoing renovation and is not dispensing its minerally goodness.

My second favorite spring appeared to have prostate troubles when raddidge and I went into Manitou Springs last Sunday.

As you will see with the provided map below, I cycled home eastwards on Uintah. This took me uphill but afterwards it was a speedy and exhilerating downhill descent. Reckon that I'm fortunate that most of the stuff which is interesting to me is within a ten mile radius. Right now riding seems to take a lot of time but the effort has been whittled away with each trip. Hopefully I'll be able to eventually ride to work in about twenty minutes, which happens to be the amount of time the drive commute home takes taking traffic into consideration.

My car-less weekend appears to be going according to plan.

A point of concern should I decide to forego driving my car until gas prices return to a tolerable level. Cue raddidge saying it's only going to get worse. The point being leaving my car in the street for an extended period. Seriously I'd be afraid of being towed because a neighbor believes the vehicle to be abandoned. I don't have a driveway where I can park my car. I could have a driveway but the little old lady who has taken up residency in the attic apartment parks her car there and there ain't much room.

Funny, a ride from the house in New Jersey to my father's business is less than 2.5 miles and that's taking a bit of a circuitous route over Route 78 and along the main drag of that particular town.

An alternate route which makes use of Morris avenue is 2.7 miles.

Note that riding to the little Safeway on Wahsatch is about two and a quarter miles. That's nothing! The ride to King Soopers is about two miles though a rider must take the hills into account.

The ride to my first "real" job is three and a quarter miles away from the New Jersey house.

Now I'd consider these trips to be considerably more dangerous taking traffic congestion and narrower streets into account. Colorado may still have hardcore SUV drivers but at least they appear to be considerate towards cyclists. Plus New Jersey Transit doesn't have any accomodations for cyclists. Either you walk there or you drive, no bikes on trains or buses unless they're one of those folding bikes and even then I'm certain an operator or conductor will raise the threat level to taupe and have the offender locked away in a high-security cell for interrogation which lasts more than four weeks.

Old World Bagels is about five miles away from my place.

Holy shit, elmgrows's place is seven and one eighth miles from my place. The route I chose which takes me up past Cassius's place then riding along Academy might be the safest route considering the construction hell which is Austin Bluffs around Union. Still, riding my bike along Academy does not appear to be a wise decision to ensure good health.

Reckon I'd have to get comfortable with riding up to Cassius's place before striking out on the Aorta of El Paso County and completing the remaining three miles and change.

Of course this may simply be an excuse stemming from sloth or avoidance with anxiety.

Add another two miles and change because I rode to the library to drop off Century Rain only to discover the book returns were locked much to my dismay. I hope I made good time.

Then again, "It's not a race, set my own pace." That's been my cycling mantra for Saturday.