Thursday's Suckiness - Cracks Appear

I'm halfway across Avery-Murfield when the weirdness starts. This is a four lane road with a nice berm in the middle where fragile bicyclists such as myself can hang out waiting for traffic coming the other way to pass. sigh My powers of description blow. It looks like this:

So I'm in the middle part, trying not to unclip (it's an inconvenience) waiting for the traffic going from the top left of the pic to the bottom left to pass on by when this lady in the left lane just stops and begins to studiously ignore my frantic head motions telling her to please keep moving. While she's ignoring my poor attempts at sign language all the cars behind her swerve into the other lane and blow by.

I unclip and mistrustfully eye her until the cars clear, then nodding my gratitude I get across the intersection and proceed along my merry way wondering if I've grown so huge that I look like a school bus with its flashers on.

It's like 90 degrees with high humidity but it doesn't feel that bad on the bike. I'm determined to make Plain City. intoIt sent me a route which I studied and then promptly forgot but I was pretty sure I could get there at least.

intoIt's Route

In my defense (cuz my 'loop' is a TAD smaller than intoIt's) my objective was to get there and get home. As I'm approaching Industrial Parkway on Mitchell-Dewitt intoIt is suddenly at my side, "Billlll" and he's gone. He has no time for me this evening. I feel like Cadel Evans during Stage 9 of the Tour without the tears as I watch him disappear.

I turn onto Converse and promptly fall in love with it. It's about 2 miles long, flat and straight as a runway. I make a mental note to try and do some interval work on this road.

I go into Plain City crossing some bridge that leads me into a pretty park. I have no idea where to go next so I amble around some back roads and it just seems nice. My lower back is starting to hurt and my hands are going periodically numb. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle my posture etc on the bike. I know when I start to get tired my posture changes and I push on the handlebars (hands go numb) and my back starts to hurt. I try and adjust but by then its too late and I just have to get through it.

Bill's Legendary Route

On the way back I meet this guy named Asif who's also on a Madone. He's impressed that I've ventured off the bike path. He's kinda wanty/needy and wants to go with someone (me) on the road. I can follow that but I'm not sure I'm the guy. I get his cell phone number but I'm not sure I'll follow up or not since I kinda like riding alone with my thought (not thoughts, I'm incapable of multitasking).

I get home to unforeseen tension in the house. I've been puzzling it out and I think it's because I've run too far to one side of the boat and have been too self-involved on this whole 'suck' business. Of late my life has consisted of getting up at 4am, doing the gym, work, evening bike ride and in bed by like 9:30pm leaving little time for others.

The fault is my own.

The joys of having an addictive personality.