30 percent there!

More donations in and hey hey, I'm 30 percent to my goal. I'm pumped! I was looking around the official booty Web site and saw the overall goal for this year's event is to raise $500,000. WOW! That's a lot. This event has been around since 2001 and started with one dude who raised $6,000. Fast forward to April of this year and that same dude gave the Lance Armstrong Foundation $1 million raised by the 24 Hours of Booty. It's amazing how you can do so much when every one helps out just a little.

Biketown Nickname Update

So I got three name suggestions for the biketown bike, The Cruiser, Pimptown Bike (only if I add a cup holder) and Flint Ride (but I'd have to hurry up and get it rusting). I've really enjoyed riding it the past couple days and I think I'm going to give it another week or two. I like that I can jump off curbs and hit bumpy light-rail tracks and not feel a thing. The bumps just aren't as smooth on my Specialized road bike. But it's always fun to ride the slow bike for a while and then switch back to the roadie and see how easy it is to go 10 mph faster. It almost makes riding feel too easy!

Yikes! Pardon me

Speaking of light rail, I nearly came to a bad end tonight. On my way home we pass two intersections near the tracks for the future light rail. They've been testing the cars a lot lately because each one needs something like 1,000 hours practice before they can be used by real customers when it opens in November. Anyway, the tracks are parallel to the road I take home. So me and 2 of my Ramblers are at a red light when one of these test cars starts coming down the tracks a ways ahead. Part of the warning system was a green light with an X through a left turn arrow. For some reason the combination of the green and the idea that I couldn't turn left because of the train made me think I must be able to go straight. Wrong answer. I started riding pretty lazily until I realized the main light was still red, I had just run it and was now in the middle of the intersection with cars approaching. They seemed to slow down, likely cursing me as one more cyclist who ignores the traffic laws.

I really felt bad. I try hard to give people a good example of how a cyclist should ride and act. I think a lot of drivers assume cyclists don't pay attention, or think they're above the rules and that cars have to watch out for us. The thing is, I know the exact opposite is true. When I ride to work, almost the only thing I'm thinking about is how to stay alive and not get hit. "Is that car going to pull out without looking? Will they turn right without noticing I'm on their left? Is cell phone lady going to tag me when I pass this bus? Will that car roll stop at the sign?" The last thing I want to do is add to the probability that I'm going to become a pavement stain. Because no matter whose fault a wreck is, I know little ol' me is not going to come out for the better against a two ton motor vehicle. Oh well, I'll try harder next time.