Wednesday Musette

As I traveled west on 76th Street yesterday morning, a semi-truck passed in the left lane, and then as his cab went by me, he moved back over into my lane. The trailer and rear wheels were uncomfortably close - maybe about 2 feet away. I eased up on the pedals as the gods smiled because the light at Main Street was red. The truck had to slow and almost stop. I still had Big Mo, so I moved over into the passing lane, passed him, and then moved back into the right hand lane on the other side of the intersection. Four wheeler traffic caught up and passed us both, the trucker sounding his horn to signal his displeasure at being trapped behind a bicyclist. I motioned for him to pass in the other lane. He didn't like it. Tough shit. The guy was either being careless when he passed me or he was deliberately trying to run me into the curb. When I passed him on the left - a legal maneuver for a cyclist when he's traveling FASTER than traffic in his lane - I merely returned the favor. Funny thing, though, when he passed me the second time he stayed in the left lane until he was well clear.



I've had pain in my right knee for some time now. Actually, both knees have been hurting, but at different times. Since I have pseudo-gout which is a kind of arthritis effected by diet, I thought that I'd been eating the prohibited food groups too often. But changing my diet didn't help, so I began to suspect my cleats. Today (Wednesday) I moved the right cleat back about 3mm. We'll see if it provides any relief. I've had knee pain before now, but never anything this persistent.



My ancient Compaq laptop is on its last legs. One of the hinges broke this week, and the screen support is twisted out of shape. I don't think it's repairable. The screen sits slightly cock-eyed, tilting to the right. I've been backing up software and all my work. Much of CycleDog is on this machine. It's been fairly reliable - for the most part - since it was re-formatted two years ago. I hate to see it go, but I know I'll enjoy a new machine if only for the higher-resolution screen. The new ones are easier to read, and that's something I'm learning to appreciate more as my eyes get older. I saw an ad for laptops at one of the big box stores, so I may be going there tonight.


Oh, by the way, I've decided to name my unhealed saddle sore "Ann Coulter" because they have so much in common. One is a hateful bag of pus and the other is firmly attached to my ass.