Day 54: Hold it right there

Today was a bike/work/run/bike day. During the morning bike-commute, in the rain, I was stopped by a cop waving his hands like a wild man. Actually, there were two cops, both of whom had parked their own bikes off to the side of the road; they were upset that I had run a red light. Actually actually, the cops pulled over three cyclists, and I was the third. I saw the cops before I ran the light, but I knew there were two bikers ahead of me, and with only two cops, that meant no problem for me. Sure enough, the first two got written warnings, and I got a sheepish reprimand, with the cop in fact admitting that he couldn't write out two "papers" at once. Suckers! To tell the truth, though, I'm a little embarrassed about this. No, I shouldn't have been running a red light. But if the cops really care about bicycle safety, they might consider going after the drivers: I had a number of near-death experiences during my 3.4-mile morning ride. Surely that would be more rewarding than hassling bikers who, in a pouring rain, are just trying to take advantage of favorable pedestrian signals... even though, of course, they really shouldn't. OK, end of speech.

Alisa made the mistake of running with me (4 miles) after work. Another of my marathoning stud-friends (she ran Boston this year), Alisa was kept waiting while I hit the head, and I think she ended up missing half her Pilates class. Plus, I was much slower than she'd probably expected. Sorry, Alisa! I had fun, though... and I was only kidding about your fiance not passing the bar exam! If I promise not to make stupid jokes and to pick up the pace and to be on time, maybe you'll run with me again!

I then hit the bike again to swing by REI, in the Fenway, to pick up some stuff that had come in. Not on the way home, but no problem with the bike. Total miles: 10.3. Near-death experiences on the way home: numerous. Yes, biking is dangerous. I haven't had two crashes in the space of a week (like some ace-bandage-wearing people), but the pastime is certainly not for the faint of heart.

Note to ML: good call on the knee-braces. I've got LOTS of leftover Chamois Butt'r from the bike trip, and will try that.

And a shout-out to RR: 13 miles ain't easy. But the miracle-socks certainly help.