Commuter Report: Week 1 Finished

I really enjoyed biking to work last week, even though I had to bail on Thursday and Friday afternoons because of the torrential downpours. Fret not, as I now have fully functional fenders and lights on the BlueBike, and I’m ready for anything. Well, not anything per se, you know, not a tornado or volcanic activity, or a tidal wave or a Cat 5 hurricane. But as for dark and rain, I’ve pretty much got that covered. I’ve got all my stuff in waterproof bags, so even if it rains, I’m ready to go.

Yes, I’m still scared of getting run down, but not as much as I was. In actuality, the rides have been a lot better than I thought they would be. I’m still curious as to if/when I’ll run across local law enforcement, and what they’ll tell me about riding in the street… Thibodaux, LA doesn’t have the greatest track record for bicycle-friendly law enforcement. It would do those guys some good to actually patrol on bikes and see what traffic is like without the protective bubbles of their plush cruisers. Heh, that’s wishful thinking.

Anyway, the ride has gone mostly fine. I had a rough day today, but I am reminded that last week went really well. My lighting system performed perfectly after I realized I had hooked the battery up wrong! The taillight I use only works when the polarity is correct, it’s made of LEDs and doesn’t have a rectifier in it. (Hmm, another project I could do one day) The bike is riding fine, the fenders worked great. Everything seems to be going perfectly.

I still need to get a better tire solution for preventing flats. The Kenda tires I have ride well, but are cheap, and they seem to like to eat up bits of metal like Cookie Monster eats cookies. Maybe I could try some tire liners, like Mr. Tuffy brand.

As I sit here typing this, it’s raining outside. I don’t know if the rain will be done by the time I get off of work, but I’m looking forward to riding home in the rain, to see what that will be like. No, I’m not crazy… I spent money on quality fenders, I want to see how well they work!