Adventures in bicycling

So I've been good and ridden my bike to work every day of the week.

It's not really a bad ride. I set out in the wee-hours of the morning before the sun has roused from its cozy bed and had that first cup of sweet, sweet coffee.

At that time, the normally-busy city streets of the Berzerkely area are navicable so it's pretty much a straight shot in.

It's dark, but I have a pretty bright lamp on my bike and the city streets are lit so I don't have problems.

I also have a rule: once I start I don't stop for anything short of a moving vehicle. Period.

There's a reason for this: freaks.

If you're not familiar with the Berkeley area, it has its fair share of nutcases walking about. They really like walking about at all hours and in all kinds of weather. I see a fair number of them on my bike ride in.

Many try to stop me (and other folks moving about in the wee hours) for conversation or whatever.

I don't stop unless I hit an intersection where I have no real choice. There's just nothing to be gained from it.

This morning I was just about to cross out of Berkeley's city boundaries into Emeryville's borders when I hit a red light and had to stop because of opposing traffic. Stopped next to me at the light was some random guy on a bike.

It's 5-something in the morning. I have exactly one cup of coffee in me. I'm not making eye contact.

So what does this guy do? Starts chatting at me. At first I thought he was coherent, but he rapidly stopped being coherent.

The light changed colors and I was pretty much gone like a shot. He followed me for three blocks, but I've gotten familiar with the E'ville streets and either I lost him or he found something else to do.

Good times.

While it's nice for physical fitness, this ride does have its fair share of tweaky moments. I've been stopped by police three times while on my bike, had random pedestrians try to flag me down (or grab me off my bike... whee!) and I've been solicited at least twice.

I need to buy that "Flypaper for Freaks" t-shirt.