Tour de Fat

New Belgium Brewing (makers of Fat Tire and other beers that are all better than Fat Tire) had their annual roadshow called the Tour De Fat in Tempe today. Over 2500 bikers rode on a 3-4 mile parade, and even more showed up to drink $5 beers and enjoy the scenery. All kinds of costumes and crazy bikes, with people all with the same intentions of celebrating the bike as a form of transportation. 

From my house to Tempe, then parade and back, was about 30 miles. Add that to the 4 days of commuting and I've topped 172 miles for the week. Holy cow! I have a feeling I'll sleep well tonight! Got a long drive tomorrow....

Ninja Bikers

Alright, I'll admit that I've been in Phoenix long enough to become used to its various stages of evil weather. The 110+ degree summers, and the frigid 32 degree nights. Today there was a curveball. After a nice cloudy weekend, this morning was a chilly 62 degrees. 62 on any day is a blessing, it's perfect for me. But this mornings ride was COLD. My body hasn't seen 62 degrees since February, and it's the "coldest" its been since I started riding. After a mile this morning I think I was actually shivering. I'll get used to it quickly, as I do every year, but today I'll admit I was a wimp! 

With the cold morning, the "Ninja Bikers" were out in full force. They appear out of nowhere, often on the wrong side of the road. It's dark, they're wearing dark clothes, and have no lights or reflectors.  They have no idea how much danger they are putting themselves into, and I'll be damned if they are gonna plow into me. *I* have lights (front and back x2!), and have lots of reflective gear on my bike/helmet/backpack, so I know that I'm seen, but these guys get awfully close sometimes, and all I can do is mutter "idiot" under my breath and be thankful I'm not one of them. They are going to be the statistics that give bike commuters a bad name. 

Since next week we'll be in CA on vacation, I'm gonna try to make up the mileage this week. 4 commutes plus New Belgium Brewing's Tour de Fat on Saturday. Should put me close to 180 miles by Saturday afternoon. We'll see how close I get!