pre-dawn ice biking

-
i'm still riding my trek hybrid 7200. rode it yesterday. rode it this morning, at 5:30 AM, before dawn. i can't remember the last time i rode in the dark. temps in the 20s F. i had a blinker on my backpack. and i had an LED headlight strapped on my head, under the helmet. anyway, things went pretty smoothly for the first half of the ride. birds were chirping. cars were sparse. headlamp worked well. ice spots were visible. except for that spot under the big bridge. coming off the bridge the bike path wraps tightly underneath it and it isn't plowed too well. so i cut the corner through the snow, which went fine except i came out onto a black ice patch and totally wiped out. my shoulder is a little sore. but that wasn't the worst part. i got off the patch and got on the bike and started off right into the view of a small skunk ambling down the path. the skunk turned around and started walking away from me. i wanted to be far away from the skunks rear end so i stopped riding. but the skunk figured, "hey, this guy must be friendly" and turned around and started walking back towards me. so i got off the pathway and into the snow to go around it. far around it. but it got scared again and headed back down the direction i needed to go. so i had to outrace a skunk through the snow on my bicycle. and i managed to do that and arrived at work without further incident.
two firsts.
1) pre-dawn ride
2) close skunk encounter

updated thought: God was gracious to me by having me fall down instead of biking right into the skunk...

Comments

Plush Duck said…
I was the victim of a skunk in my youth. My mother burned my clothes and made me bathe in tomato juice. It is not an experience I would wish on anyone. Praise the Lord you were spared!
March 07, 2007
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why did Peter put his coat on before jumping in the water? John 21:7

-
I have the great pleasure of facilitating every week a Bible discussion group with several high school students. We've been discussing the Gospel of John  this past year, and we finally finished tonight. We enjoyed the humorous scene John writes about in this last chapter. The great apostle John can't help himself when it comes to embarrassing his fellow inner circle apostle; the denial of Christ, his slowness in getting to the empty tomb, and this event in the last chapter. John 21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. What's the joke? Well John is the first to realize that Jesus is on the beach, #humblebrag, but then Peter puts ON his coat before jumping out of the boat? I've seen some academic ink spilled trying to explain this weird behavior on the part of this fisherman ( good one ...
Read more

bike review: Actionbent JS2-US, for sale

-
Image
Update 2011: Sold to the LBS in trade for something new. Pictures soon. Update May 2009. This baby needs a tuneup, cables and tires, and I bought something new . If you are interested in buying this from me for $350 and are willing to pick it up in New London County Connecticut, contact me by email or facebook. Both contact methods can be found to the right below the "about me" section. Click on "contact the Umblogger." Here is my new bike review from April 2007, 2 years ago. I still think the Huffy Star-Spangler would be my ideal bike. I bought a recumbent bike last month from Actionbent and have been using it for my commute. here is a picture of the Jet Stream 2, understeering. i've been a bicycle commuter for years but last summer i developed at work a bad case of tendinitis in both wrists which made riding painful. one day i longed for my old Huffy Star Spangler with the banana seat and the hot rod handle bars and pined for the good old days. then i remembe...
Read more

Binishell - concrete dome homes

-
Image
IM Design has been bringing great housing alternatives to its blog lately. Like this thing. Binishell : These pictures are pretty old, but there are new ones at the new website, Binishells.com . There is similar technology in use in the US used by Monolithic Dome . Monolithic seems to take more work. Bini lays the re-bar in circles on top of the air bladder, but springs run cross wise through that steel. The concrete is poured on the flat bladder and re-bar and springs and then the bladder is inflated before the concrete sets. All the technical details are explained on the older version of the website. Insulation still needs to be added on the dome and a finish coat after that. Monolithic blows up the bladder first, then sets up re-bar inside then insulation is sprayed on then concrete. No matter what, I like domes and round homes .
Read more