2015 Honk! Honk! / 2014 Mileage Post

it's been kinda quiet here in wileydog blogland (like a certain foosball player) but it's time for me to do my required duty and spout forth some officially sanctioned blog content. And I am wearing only Blogger approved logos as I type this, no unofficial wileydog merchandise here.

I have a a few draft posts that I never finished, but here's something fresh not-so-fresh-now from the wileydog backyard:

2015 Honk! Honk!

Its seems like not too long ago I wrote about how I didn't get honked at much in 2013 (Honk! Honk! 2013).  And I'd been thinking there was hardly any honking directed at me in 2014.  Then I'm riding home a couple weeks ago, heading north on C Street approaching Rockwell Ave (just before the Driscoll One Stop).   It's almost dark.  A car is heading east on Rockwell and we approach the intersection about the same time.  It may have got there a little bit sooner because it was moving faster than me, but they slow down and stop.  I slow down and check my right hand and determine I am indeed on the right and have the right of way.

Now my experience in this neighborhood, unlike some other neighborhoods, is that when motorists think they have the right of way they don't slow down and let some poor schmuck on a bike go first.  Which is fine.  So I'm real careful in these uncontrolled intersections.  But this occasion I had the right of way (I double checked again to make sure - maybe I should label the right side of my handlebar), the car was stopping, and I thought might as well go first.

I clear the intersection and they proceed forward.  Then I hear a honk behind me once they're through. What? everything seemed fine, I thought we had an understanding and the motorist/bike dance went off smoothly.  Maybe they were honking at my awesome studded tire bike.  Maybe they didn't like my flashing light.  I had the Cygolite on the SteadyPulse mode which is a steady medium beam with a brighter flashing.  It's not terribly bright, at east not like the airplane landing lights some folks use.  Maybe it was just a friendly honk.  But it sounded like an irritated honk. Darn biker slowing me down type of honk.  I've heard all types of honks, and this one didn't sound like a friendly tap.  Weird, too, how it was delayed.

Well this year is starting out great in the honking department.

Ok, enough ruminating on one silly honk.

2014 Mileage Post

 (complete with recycled image from last year's mileage post ).  This is turning out to be a lazy blogging year.

Again, it's hard to tell how many miles I racked up last year.  Not a whole lot, but I like to think it's respectable.  It's not the quantity, it's the quality, right?  Had some good rides last year.  Did I mention I'm a year round commuter?  Seems like I should have more.  I was without a bike computer the first month or so of last year, but got the Garmin Edge Touring device around this time. It shows around 2500 now.  It's missing a few rides so I think I can round up to 3,000 for last year. I've always been a little fuzzy with math.