It looked like today would be a commute so similar to the others this week, but there was a difference. The muppet of the day was another cyclist!
I was riding east on State St approaching a green light at Marsteller Ave. This is a one way to the north, so I was lucky that I saw the young lady on the upright Trek coming from my left when she left the curb. She was traveling south from the sidewalk into the crosswalk with a clear Don’t Walk sign. There were no autos coming from either direction, so I guess she thought it was safe to cross. I was able to slow enough to not hit her. She yelled ‘Sorry!’ while steering her ride up the ramp back to the sidewalk on the other side – tightly gripping her coffee travel mug in her left hand.
I rode the last couple of blocks to the bike rack, and saw her coming up on a sidewalk once again to park at the same rack. She was my bike rack buddy! After she apologized once again (saying she never saw me), we exchanged pleasantries about the weather and walked into the building.
I guess I should have said something about all the things she was doing wrong, but I didn’t think she would really care (plus, I would sound like a pretentious know-it-all). It’s likely she’ll no longer ride a bike as soon as she is able to keep a car on campus.
There was a quick trip to a meeting in the afternoon, then home on the direct route (again).
Miles Ridden: 8.3