Second bike ride of the Spring. Rode my old training route on rt. 51 south of Carbondale. The good news is that my off season indoor biking has paid off. I had no trouble with the hills and climbing. While the weather was a little brisk, 50 degrees and between rain storms, I managed a 30 mile jaunt. Hopefully my good luck continues with the motor traffic. Here's the situation. Rt. 51 has a small 3 foot shoulder that bicyclists use. Staying on the shoulder, on one of the more difficult climbs, I checked my mirror and saw a semi-truck rapidly approaching. "Here we go" I thought. Another near miss by a trucker. Anticipating the normal wind event where the truck goes by and barely misses as it sucks me into its vortex causing me to adhere to it like a plunger on a flat rock (well, maybe not that close but you get the picture) I prepared myself for the encounter. As it got nearer I noticed something strange. Could I believe my eyes? The behemoth actually changed lanes and gave me my entire side of the road!! It set such a good example the two cars following it changed lanes giving me ample room. That rarely happens. I gave a hearty thumbs up to the drivers of those vehicles. On both of my rides this spring motorists have shown an incredible amount of respect. Hopefully, it is a new trend and continues throughout the outside riding season.
