It's been one week since my last commute. Coolish, but very humid for the ride in.

I'm gonna talk about my dirt trail a bit more. Another problem with it is that there are sections where the trail is quite narrow and deeply rutted. A picture is worth a thousand words:



Last Thursday, there was rain in the forecast, and drizzling lightly as I left the office, so I tried (unsuccessfully) to beat the rain* home. I was booting down the dirt trail around a gentle curve when my front tire got caught on the left side of a rut. My center of gravity kept moving left, but the tire stayed steadfastly in the rut, like a Hot Wheels car on an orange track. So down I went. There was a brief moment of terror when I realized what was happening, which quickly morphed into peaceful acceptance when I realized there was nothing I could do to stop it. Due to the grassy landing, my injuries were limited to a grass stain on one knee, and my left hip was a little sore to the touch for a while, but it didn't affect my gait, so I got off easy. Regardless, I'm glad there were no children around to hear me opine about the situation. I got back on and rode home without further incident, besides getting thoroughly soaked.

I guess I could ride on the grass, but that would be slower. I have paved options, but thanks to construction, I would need to take a significant detour. This stupid trail is my best option for now. Maybe I need a mountain bike. Or, this bike has clearance for 35mm knobbies, I could look into that. With a bit of grip on the side of the tires, maybe there's a better chance they would climb out of the rut.

No significant incidents this morning. In the mornings, the trail is mostly uphill, so I can't go very fast, so less chance of something catastrophic happening. In the afternoons, I'm riding my brakes.

*After I got home, I found out that it was impossible to beat the rain, since I was riding straight into it.