Some things are just so infuriating they make me as mad as a wet hen. Take for example the seeming unwillingness to greet another rider that prevails on Tamaki Drive. I rode there for the first time in a couple of months on Wednesday morning, it was still before sunrise and silence is the order of the day now when a rider passes. What's with that? It's the morning, one's doing what one enjoys, the day is yet to unfold, it's a good place to be, so what's with the attitude? I don't get it.
Contrast that with the cheery greetings I get in the Waitaks from walkers and other riders generally and I'm left a little perplexed. The good thing for me is that now I have a truly good light and I can ride wherever and whenever I choose. I am not confined to the waterfront or town loops.
On that note MAXX (it's the transport website of the Auckland Regional Council) has a very good cycling resource page. There you can find route planning maps, crash data and an input map. All in Google maps, extremely detailed and interactive, and well worth a peruse. The crash data is particularly interesting to me, with some extremely surprising results. The vast majority of the crashes happen in the day, and, at risk of making a gross generalisation, the majority of the night time/ darkness crashes were a result of cyclist stupidity, e.g. little or no lighting, intoxication, etc.
The vast majority of the crashes involving cars were with cars turning in front of cyclists, typically misjudging the speed of the cyclist or failing to see them. There are a few car doors and on Tamaki Drive a few riders who have ridden into the back of parked cars.
These maps are worth looking at, if only to valid your route choices.
The collarbone debarcle is now truly behind me, and I'm as motivated as ever, even this average weather we are experiencing at the moment isn't an obstacle to adding miles to the training. I am also less embarrassed about how I broke the damn thing now, partly through the distance of time, and partly through finding other parents who have done very similar things with BMX bikes or skateboards. I know my limitations and have always given skateboards a very wide berth, so there's no chance of an ugly accident with one of those.
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