Stage 2 - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Today the Tour riders ended up in Luxembourg, I ended up in Lebanon.

The Good
Just as I stopped at a filling station for fluids I heard the sound of metal on pavement. Looking over I saw that an elderly woman with a cane had slipped and fallen. By the time I could click and slide in my biking shoes to where she was about seven other people had arrived to help her up and to see how she was. She insisted that she was OK and wanted to get into her car and go home but I told her she should sit for a minute to make sure that everything was indeed OK. As someone went for water I checked her shoulder, elbow, wrist and arm for any breaks. I had her perform the usual tests; wiggle her fingers, raise her arms, wave her hand, etc. In a weak voice she said her name was Marie. She was trembling from the fright but everything else appeared fine. I asked her if she had someone nearby who could come and get her. She didn't. I was about to offer to put my bike in her car and drive her home when a young couple said that they lived down the road from her. Marie and the couple had not previously met even though they lived within a mile of each other on the same road. We decided to have Marie get into the couple's SUV and while the young woman drove Marie home the young man would drive Marie's car.

Why is this the good? Because even though the news we hear seems to indicate that humanity could car less about one another, Marie's fall proves otherwise. By the time Marie got into the SUV at least a dozen people had offered to assist. And as for Marie and the young couple; I'll wager that they become fast friends.

The Bad
Dump truck drivers. Why do they think that they can haul their tons of rocks at 80 miles per hour all while hugging the white line just inches from cyclists? I swear they keep a running score of who can blow the most cyclists off the road during the summer months. Even on an otherwise empty road they will give you no room. I reviewed the laws regarding cyclists in this post so I'll only mention here that the law requires drivers to be at least three feet from a cyclist. Furthermore, I will right here and now advocate that a law be written forbidding dump truck drivers from being paid by the mile or by the load. This type of incentive causes the drivers to be in a constant rush. More loads, more money. If instead they were paid by the hour I can assure you that they would not only slow down, they would also take more and longer breaks. Leaving us cyclists safer.

On a somewhat related note, I was about 30 yards behind a semi truck when one of his retreads blew off. The loud bang scared the crap out of me.



The Ugly
In the excitement of actually getting to ride into the town of Lebanon I had a brain fart. The plan was to ride 35 miles out and then return for a 70 mile round trip. For some reason my math skills failed me and I rode to mile 36 before I realized what I had done. Pedaling home I kept hearing Chris Farley's voice saying, "You idiot!".

Three easy choices and one hard one. Why-o-why did I pick the hard one?

Ride notes: I rode by the Honey Museum at Honey Acres. I like honey, but a museum? I would like to try one of their "Hi-Honey" Energy Bars for Athletes. I'm still looking for a flat route heading west. Today's ride featured almost 4,000 feet of climbing. Ouch! For the third day in a row rain was in the forecast so I took the CT-2 instead of the new Colnago C-50.

I took a short video as I rode along a beautiful country lane. Click HERE to check it out.

Today's mileage goal; 69.13. Miles ridden; 72.