Bike to work day

Today was bike to work day and I normally commute on Friday anyhow so I participated albeit without registering. There were noticeably more people out, particularly in small groups, although not many more than on a nice weekend day: fewer pedestrians though. I wore my new kit, which consists of the bib shorts and jersey of the 2008 Finnish champion (from team Francaise Des Jeux), blue/white helmet, blue gloves, white shoes, and my blue/white bike.

A skinny-tire caught my wheel shortly after I hooked up to the W&OD trail and we paced each other most of the way into DC. It was nice although for the first couple miles I didn't keep his wheel because he was a bit more brazen with rolling through stops. We had a pretty nice pace for the latter half of my ride. He was commuting from Ashburn, which is a sight farther than my own ride.

The ride home was a little rough, but the worst of it came near the end. Shortly after I got back onto the streets from the trail I was passed by a black BMW and the passenger yelled, "Get off the road %$#hole!" I have read that this is rather common, and so is having things thrown at you or being buzzed. The latter two constitute assault with a deadly weapon (vehicle) and can be brought to court.

Since I was only verbally harassed I decided to give a little back. So I chased the car down to the next stop light, pulled alongside, and yelled, "I have as much a right to the road as you!" The passenger, a young man, pretended not to hear because the window was up; the young girl driving seemed either embarrassed or amused, or maybe both. I went off to another lane to resume my ride. The same car passed me again a little later. Some people suck.