Why? Oh Why?

Two "Why? Oh Why?" moments that I want to talk about here. One is inspired by my workout plan and the weather forecast and the other one is an occasional workout moment that I wanted to post about in the past, but completely forgot about it until I read this story here.


Let the rambling begin.


Snow on Saturday? Are you kidding me??


Tomorrow, I have a 30 mile bike ride on my handy workout plan. Not really a distance that I want to spent on the trainer, therefore I looked around for some options and found this 35/65 mile ride organized by The Great Escape in Spartanburg. The 35 mile option kinda sounded appealing until I looked at the weather forecast. Temperatures in the low 40s and a 70% chance of precipitation... I even heard people talk about snow! Are you kidding me? This is South Carolina and it's early December, that just sounds all kinds of wrong. All of a sudden the trainer ride and an America's Next Top Model Marathon (I am not sure if one is on, but the chances are pretty good) sound like a much better alternative. I know, once again I am chickening out and yes I know that a couple of weeks ago I was boasting about having the winter cycling gear now that should make it possible for me to ride all through the winter... Hmmmm... And maybe I won't be so hesitant, if it were just for the temps but at least dry! Oh well, just call me a sissy. I will keep on monitoring the weather forecast and make the final decision tomorrow morning.


Don't HONK at me!


For whatever reason, some motorists have the urge to acknowledge people that use American roads (or sidewalks for that matter) for something else than driving a humongous truck by honking at them. By using them in a different way, I mean they run or cycle on them! (GET OUTTA HERE! Who does that! ;-) When it first happened, I honestly was a little flattered because I thought the honking was the redneck's equivalent to the construction worker's whistling (this post is also on how to put every single stereotype in the world in one entry), but for whatever reason, it also always felt a little hostile. I came to the realization that honking is the seal of disapproval for the exercising community when I read a couple of articles about run-ins between motorist and runners/cyclist. Whereas the newspaper articles are pretty neutral most of the time, it's the reader's comments that really make me worry about my safety while out on the road.


You can check out the article that I linked above and I tried to find the other articles, but couldn't, so you just have to believe me here, people. The comments are CRAZY. From rants about how aggressive cyclists are (how aggressive can a cyclist be? the car will win 100% of the time) over how dare a runner can run on the road (well, if there would be more sidewalks and more well-lit parks in this country, we wouldn't have to) and I don't want a narcissistic exercise freak showing around his bare chest in my neighborhood just to make everyone else feel miserable about themselves (if someone really thinks that this is our motivation to workout in public, then those guys are way more self-centered that they give themselves credit for). People get over this!! The roads are not only for motorist and since cycling and running seem to be growing in popularity, people just have to get use to it and start looking out for them and NOT be surprised about their existence. Vice versa, cyclist that don't wear helmets, run stop signs and drive the wrong way round into a one-way street just add fuel to the fire to those that are already p***ed off at us, so PLEASE STOP doing it. For runners and walkers out on badly lit roads, I highly recommend you to use a headlamp/ flash light and a reflective vest for your own safety to make it easier for the motorist to stop you.

Be safe out there and enjoy your weekend!