This is just weird... I don't know why, but here's what's up :

I emailed my boss at work when I was leaving work today to let him know I'd be in late tomorrow so I could have some energy left over to bike the 25 miles I have to tomorrow to go to the 8 hour class he signed me up for 3 hours after I'm supposed to be done tomorrow. I got home, and he left me a message saying "Don't ride your bike - that's insane - call me on my cell I'll be on the way to work! We'll pay for the cab, and you don't need to come into work tonight if you don't feel like it"

Response : "Well, I was worried about the lack of sleep thing and memory retention, but was looking forward to the ride..."

So I'm not working tonight!

Of course, that means that I have to figure out something to keep me awake way past my bed time - answer : Whiskey and LBSs!!!!

So I head out the door to go to the bar, and stop for nicotine at the store by my house. Spent probably 15 min talking with the guy that worked there about it (he was outside smoking, it was 8am...) He couldn't believe how light it was, and was asking "How much for bike like that - 100? 200?" Unfortunatly, nowhere close...

So then I get to the bar, and the bartender asks me what I'm doing besides biking... Turns out that the beater SS with the still geared 26" freewheel I locked up next to belongs to the cook who is sitting at the bar watching golf. When I told him a Bianchi track bike was locked up to the same pole as his, he had to go outside and look!!! We talked quite a bit about bikes, and I found out the hub he had was some weird Italian one that he can't get another axle for... He was short on cash, I think my beater winter wheel will go to him for cheap...

Anyways, the second customer of the day came in, and put his bike seat and water bottle down on the bar!!! Riding a Gary Fisher MTB, but for some reason, he was the one that brought up the TDF... We ended up leaving at the same time, and he couldn't get his head around what I was riding (though we'd talked about it in the bar some)

So then it's off to look for parts and new shoes... done, new chainring on the way, surprised that durace doesn't make anything larger than a 16 cog - I don't trust Surly cogs anymore, I've bent the teeth too much...

Anyways, then it's into downtown for dinner and another couple, and by then it's 11:30 traffic. I head to the street (nicolette) that isn't supposed to have bikers except messengers during the day for the last 3 blocks to the bar I want to hit. Come up behind two busses, and take the oncoming lane to pass them. Have to really start punching it to overtake by the next light change (didn't happen), and notice a cop is in the same lane as me going the opposite direction. Technically, he should be pulling me over right now for being in the wrong lane, and being a posenger during peak traffic hours.

But he doesn't even slow down as I head towards his front bumper and swerve back into the 'proper' lane in front of the bus, with maybe 5 feet to spare.

Hit the last bar, got dinner, came back out, and there was a bike cop in the same lane, and busses in the same lane... decided to walk it across the intersection, then took off when he was behind me...

I dunno, it's just weird - it's all bikes today. I've got to get back on her now that my bag is empty so I can get supplies for the weekend (PBR and Jameson, won't take long) but I do have good feelings about having to ride out to Ritchfield tomorrow...