Well, I thought I would chime in about today's commute. For one thing, my father in-law is back so I am down to morning rides in again. Last night was a really muggy 103 degrees. I did have a guy on a mtn bike that I caught up to pacing off me for awhile though (he was doing really good for a fat tire type at 20 mph). Anyway, that was yesterday's commute not todays.
Today I was excited because I was able to catch the new canal path I discovered on the way home on Monday, but going the other way. I am finding this route cuts out a whole bunch of stoplights and the path is smooth as a babies butt. Not that I go around feeling babies butts mind you. Anyway, the path is nice and the temperature near the canal tends to be a few degrees cooler.
The big event of the commute happened after I had turned onto Chandler blvd. I was just cruising along minding my own business when this HUGE front end loader cruises by me at around 25 mph. His little fan on the back was whirring as fast as it could go, and the thing was rocking along with the engine maxed. So, I thought to myself, here we have an opportunity for someone who might want to hop on for a motor draft. The next car was a hundred feet back, I had enough speed so that a firm pedal push or two and I would be on. In the end, I took the opportunity. Sitting in the wake of this thing I would only need to pedal occasionally. I figured it wouldn't last long as he was probably just going around the corner.
Well, to my surprise we kept going, and going, and going. We cruised through stoplight after stoplight only getting caught at one, but I was succesfully able to catch on again. This was like catching the eternal wave my friends. He just kept pulling me. It was a beautiful thing. Everytime I heard the engine pitch up a notch I knew he was slowing and could easily brake in time. This was the perfect vehicle to motor draft. Everyone ought to have a front end loader. After 5 or 6 miles, I am afraid we had to part ways. I giving a wave to the driver in a token of thanks, and proceeding down the road. I found I had to warm up again after all the resting in the wake of that massive beast. I rode the last 2 miles easy as it didn't make any sense to get warmed back up again only to stop. May I find another such opportunity soon.
2 comments:
Umm... A bit dangerous don't you think, mon ami?
I guess swimming with a whale beats swimming with sharks--
Cheers! Bruce
Yeah, a bit. The speeds we were going weren't bad and I was actually around 20 feet behind him.
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