The Way Things Are

There are things I love about biking and there are things that I dislike, but the things that I love much outweigh those that I do not, which is saying a bit after my 4 mile run last night and a 15 mile bike this morning. My legs are tired now, to say the least.

The things that I love:
1. The exhilaration of going fast powered by your own pumping legs.
2. The sound of the wind on a calm day... with the knowledge that you're creating the wind.
3. Enjoying the beauty of nature as you ride by (especially if it's a little blurry - that means speed).
4. The feeling of accomplishment when you finish a long ride.
5. Becoming one with your bike - you move one way, the bike does to.
6. Getting better each week and realizing it.
7. The will power you find on a day when your body's a little tired and it's a feat just to finish.
8. The feeling of being in touch with all of your senses to keep yourself not only biking but also alive and accident free. (But the actual need to defend your life from cars is a dislike.)
9. Down hills when your legs are getting tired. Up hills when your legs are fresh.
10. The gear.
The things that I dislike:
1. People driving cars who have no clue about cyclists and the rules of the road. Case in point, two incidents today: #1. I'm stopped at my stop sign with one leg unclipped waiting for oncoming traffic to pass. Woman in on coming traffic sees me & stops (with 5 cars behind her also having to stop) and tries to flag me on even though traffic is on coming in the other lane. I wave her on and shake my head no. She blasts her horn at me, which causes the other lane of traffic to also stop. I am forced to go because now there is a traffic jam and I am embarrassed - all because I am properly stopped at a stop sign. #2. I yield to on coming traffic and am about to go with plenty of time when a car sees me and instead of continuing to go so that I may continue after he passes, he stops in the middle of the road and then yells at me when I stop too.
2. School zones. Parents do not pay attention to you on a bike at all. Evidently being taller than an elementary school child renders you invisible.
3. Training on a hybrid. Oh I long for a road bike (or maybe a tri bike). A more aero position and better efficiency would be heavenly.
4. Down shifting only to discover that I've down shifted too much and the power of my pedaling causes my feet to unclip and fly off the pedals. (I may need to 1) learn not to downshift like this, and 2) tighten the bindings on my clip ins.)
5. Being courteous to pedestrians by shouting "I'm on your left" only for them to walk or jump right in front of you causing you to veer to the right again (to save both them and you from an accident) and still having to thank them.
6. Having to stop at stop signs. I understand the need for safety, which is why I adhere to the stop at stop signs rule... but I have a need for speed! Oh, and last night's run was good... and my coach also helped me with my form. Turns out I don't know how to run properly! I was positioning my arms the wrong way and too far out, I was not leaning forward correctly, and I was breathing wrong. Running the last mile with her and working on it made the last mile easier on my body. So now I just have to keep working on it and who knows, maybe just maybe a list like the above might arise... we'll just have to see!

And if any one has tips on how to get your kids to wear underpants on a regular basis. Please let me know. Megan was a champ yesterday and had no accidents, then this morning refused to wear underpants. Amanda on the other hand decided she wanted to wear underpants and did a little dance with one leg crossed over her knee while hopping so she didn't pee until she was sitting on the potty. But, most likely she'll return home in underpants because despite going in the potty, she tends to ask for pullups at school! I think in 3 weeks we're going cold turkey to underpants... which will mean even more laundry, but it may be worth it!
Things overheard in the car yesterday....
Amanda: we going to get Daddy from he work, but we not go in his building. We sit in parking lot and go beep beep, honk honk, Daddy!
Megan: We no have horn! The light is green. That light red. I like red and green, and purple. I like purple. Purple is good.
Amanda: I like purple too. Purple and Green. You like purple Mommy? (Mommy responded that she likes blue and green.)
Megan: Green means go, Yellow mean slow, Red mean stop. Purple mean pretty. Mommy like blue and green. I like blue and green. You like it, Amanda?
Amanda: I like blue and green too. I love Mommy too.