Getting back on the horse
Today was my first day playing in traffic again. I found aspects of it terrifying to consider, but probably not the aspects I should really worry about. Riding uphill in heavy traffic doesn’t worry me hardly a bit; it’s going downhill that I find concerning. I get going pretty fast when gravity’s on my side. I could get hurt! I made it pretty alright, though, and zooming downhill through traffic is actually quite exhilarating. While actually on the bike, there were a few spots with a lot of cars turning that had me worried at spots, but that was about it.
I took on that stupid hill northward on Sandy Springs Circle on Sunday, and I made it up to the Kroger, about the ? point before just completely giving up and stopping for lunch at some new Italian place. Apparently it’s some local chain that started in Norcross. They have more pictures of celebrities riding Vespas than I have ever seen in one place. They also have two actual Vespas parked out front, though I don’t know what they plan to do with them. They make a pretty good calzone. The stretch of Roswell Road between my green valley and Glenridge isn’t that bad, but I still ended up using some gears I didn’t know that I had. Oddly enough endurance doesn’t seem like too big an issue?I wasn’t huffing and puffing nearly as bad as when I originally started this crazy habit, and I didn’t have to stop completely at the top of the hill like I used to—I just can’t push as hard. Not pissing off the traffic that I’m blocking behind me is a big concern when I’m riding, so falling short of my old speeds is a bit distressing. Also, I can’t keep as straight at lower speeds, so there’s the worry that I’ll veer off into someone’s fender. I hope that this gets better soon, but I seem to be pretty quickly becoming reacquainted with all of the old feelings. I’ve even started dragging my shoes to make up for my shitty brakes without even thinking about it. I really should have bought cheaper shoes.
The MARTA ride went off without any unusual bumps. The Breeze gates are still as crappy as ever. It took three taps in the morning to get into the station, and on the way home I helped tap someone through at North Springs whose gate didn’t open because he was standing in the way of the beam like you would think you’re supposed to. The buses have replaced the card readers, or at least the face plate on the card readers, with fancy looking blue things in the three or four months I’ve been gone. The new readers have a grey rectangle on either side of the card target, and I’m not sure if they’re buttons or if they’re just hiding bolts. It still took my card without me having to do anything extra, so I didn’t ask. I didn’t see anyone today without a Breeze card, so I guess the transition went pretty ok. I still think it’s dumb that you need a Breeze card to transfer to rail but can’t buy one on a bus. Someone pointed out on a mailing list that Amtrak, about the only way into the city that doesn’t have a MARTA rail station, is especially troublesome. I would say that no one uses Amtrak, but my own Amtrak experience seemed crowded enough. So everyone gets to pay an extra $2.25 as a reward for using an inconvenient means of transportation. I don’t really like the Breeze cards.