Got up and did a ride. Here's what happened...
Thinking about the Katy ride, wanted to get some miles. Got a wild hair to do something different. When I woke up, I looked at Google Earth to make sure where to make a critical turn if I was to do this. So left home on the Litespeed and this is what happened...
A - Home
B - Ride to Gorditas' newsstand for a coffee.
C - Weird...Someone throws a 2-Liter bottle of orange soda at me. I heard it skidding on the pavement behind, it hit my rear wheel, jostled the bike, speed and momentum brings the bottle around spinning under my bottom bracket, hitting the front wheel, continues spinning/skidding to the curb.
D - An urban bus nearly sideswipes me, misses me by less than 6 inches, probably doing at least 30 mph.
E - After summiting a steep little climb, that happens to be a detour today (I didn't know this when I headed out this morning) I am riding down a steep hill in bumper to bumper traffic, I get a front puncture and have to pull off to repair my flat. I find two small holes. I patch them, and get back on the road.
F - Traffic is backed up to a dead stop. I ride in the left hand lane to get around the stopped traffic and find protesters have blocked the road. Apparently some angry mothers don't like heavy trucks being diverted onto their road putting their children at risk. A couple of motorcycle police on the scene trying to defuse the situation. I walk my bike through the chaos, trying to be invisible, get back on as soon as possible and sprint away. This is a sketchy barrio I am in.
G - Rode through the industrial park (Polar brewery, Coca Cola bottling, etc.) Cross this major intersection, easily, but have to ride around traffic, fording deep standing water from recent rains. I get muddy.
H - Dodge more heavy traffic by riding on the sidewalk (ala "The Cyclists") hop off the curbs, weave through traffic, cross the Rio Neveri, on this narrow bridge.
I - Nearly get T-boned by a Dodge truck
J - Oops...I don't know my alphabet
K - Go to Gorditas' Annex for a breakfast empanada (cazon...dried fish) and 2 Polar maltas (unfermented beer)
B - Cross the street to Gorditas' newsstand for a newspaper for my wife.
A - Home again according to Google Earth, I rode about 18.7 miles.
