Cool Ride w/ a Weird Side-Story

Feeling kinda weird about our ride before the ride yesterday and it's turning a great day into a sort of strange one.............................

Here's the deal - 8 or 9 of us met here @ the shop @ 7:30 to ride down to S-tuck, pick up B. and H. and get some miles before joining the "official" ride preceding the 'Yoga for Cyclists' class that H. was teaching. After dealin' w/ not 1 but 2 mechanicals before we even left the shop we were all rollin' west down a very quiet 8th street. As we coasted past the cop shop (well...some of us coasted) I see a guy on a recumbent comin the wrong way up the street. (It's a one-way) Not only is he riding up a one-way street - he's goin' curb to curb, slaloming up the street like a 9 year old on a Sting-Ray.

I almost said something to him for riding up a one-way.....noy sure why I didn't.

Then he does a big 180 and stars riding w/ us. Well...not WITH us exactly, but ahead of us, behind us, alongside us, etc. It was kinda weird, none of us knowing him, him being on a 'bent, you name it. Hell - he stayed w/ us all the way to Fennville! ('bout 30 miles). Hung on too, mostly.

I felt bad 'cuz I never chatted him up. That's not like me and I'm not sure what the deal was. It's not becuase he was on a 'bent I don't think. K.O. on the JDRF team rides one and he's plenty cool. I think it's 'cuz when I first saw him he was pulling that dumb-ass move and I'm so damn sick and tired of seeing other riders pulling one dick move or the next...all of them making it tougher for the rest of us.

I know.......that's not you. You behave, right? Me too. It's those other guys, I know that. Except................is it? Can you say that for damnsure? I hope so, 'cuz if you can't you're part of the problem just like our 'bent buddy. Oh sure.........riding huge "S" curves up a one way street is "worse" than jumpin' a 4 way stop or cuttin' onto a sidewalk to beat a train.

Except it's not.

You're either playin' it straight, or you're not as far as I can see.

I know it's hard sometimes. I know that it's inconvienent to hafta sit @ a red light when there's no one in sight or go 4 blocks outta your way 'cuz of the one way streets. So what? It's the rules and it's the only way that we are ever gonna be able to stake our claim to roads that are rightfully as much ours as anyone elses.

Think about it at least, okay?

(Full disclosure Department - Yes, I jumped the stop sigh @ 24th and Country Club for the sole reason of grabbin' the City Limit sign. Guilty as charged / Guilty as Hell. I could tell it was clear from everyone else's body language but still..........a numb nuts move on my part and I'll cop to it.)

Holland Hundred this Saturday! It's gonna be HUGE! We have over 750 registered and we're expecting that many more as day-off registers. Good Lord! See you there!

MC