Several Dangerous Miles

Post for June 8

The day started like the previous day ended, on quiet country roads with steam sometimes floating above the wet tar.

I took this picture on a safe section of a bad road. The other sections had traffic passing in both directions with no shoulder. All of them had the rumble strip shown here.

Later in the day, the road had several bits that cyclists do not like. It only had 2 lanes. Both were busy. My lane often had no shoulder, and a rumble strip was on the white line.

That strip made it hard to wander off the road in very busy traffic, which I like to do. At slow speeds on a heavy bike, moving over a rumble strip can make my bike unstable, which can nudge me back into traffic. When traffic was really intense, I cycled on the gravel.

I’m usually Ok in intense traffic. I turn on all my lights, stay calm, and look around a lot. I did all that today except for staying calm. The busy road made me tense for 10-20 miles. People sometimes tell me that I’m brave to go on these long rides. I like to reply that bravery and foolishness are 2 sides of thin coin. Today, I felt like I was on the wrong side of that coin.

Today’s song, from my cycling playlist, is Beethoven’s 5th, first movement. It’s intensity fits this day.

One thought on “Several Dangerous Miles

  1. Thank you for asking about maps. I would like three:
    1. Show entire trip route.
    2. Show region of day’s route, as in today’s post.
    3. Show day’s route, including Mississippi River Trail, if possible.

    If you would only like two maps, then:
    1. Show entire trip route with map pin for where day ended.
    2. Show day’s route, including Mississippi River Trail, if possible.

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