A Relaxful Ride

Mom taking young son out for a stroll

Oh what a wonderful first week of January I have seen! Upper 40s and low 50s most days and every day totally sunny, great for pedalling and picture taking. I'm enjoying this Global Warming, whether its true or not [I feel it is] and I hope to see less snow and ice covered streets this winter. As I was riding, I stopped to talk to this happy mom taking her son for a walk. She told me to have a safe ride and I said I had to be very careful because many drivers never watch for bikes here since they never encounter them often enough to really watch out for us. I told her we needed more bike lanes and paths and she said in Ann Arbor where she works there are many more bike lanes. I suppose this is true since the University of Michigan is located in the center of Ann Arbor and you have so many students getting around by bicycle. Im sure most Ann Arbor drivers are well aware of the bicycles pedalling about. When ever I drove to Ann Arbor to the U of M Chessclub I passed many a 2-Wheeled commuter and felt frustrated if they got in my way. Its only natural and I feel frustrated when I'm pedalling. Its only recently that I have a greater appreciation for pedallers since I have been riding Betty Lou these past 5 years. I now respect both cars and pedallers, but I do feel the cars must give bicyclers more respect due to their greater ability to inflict damage. It's very hard for a bike to hurt someone in a car but the opposite is quite the reverse. Well enough of this sad talk, I have noticed the streets have been unusually devoid of people this past week. No doubt it's due to them trying to recover from all the festivities. In a way that beneficial to me [less cars to contend with or pedestrians to swerve around but less people to take pics of] Anyways, here's hoping things get a little better and not a lot worse for here, there and everywhere [Universe Included] -Jimio saying *Ride Safe* *Ride Healthy* *Ride Happy*