I headed out with good intentions this morning, to do an easy Three Bridges 35 miles in the sun. It never happened, and there were many reasons why in what can only be described as the most bizarre ride of my season....

At only 63 degrees and with the sun in and out behind clouds, I decided to wear a wind jacket. Right there I was already unhappy to have to be wearing a jacket already at this point in the season. Strike one I guess.

Strike two came early in the ride, when just a block in I noticed I had forgotten to change into my riding glasses. I now know and really appreciate the value of riding glasses. Here is why...My riding glasses have a different main point of focus from my regular glasses. We did that with intent because when I am in a riding position my eyes are looking out of a higher point of the lens. So my vision was off overall. Also, these lenses in my regular glasses are much smaller, meaning I was seeing a lot of the top of the frames. And there is less protection from the wind as well, so my eyes were watering much of the ride (a ride that would be cut short for a total of only 16 miles by the way).

Strike three was my nose. I thought I felt I was fighting off a head cold that never came last week. Maybe this was the remnants of that....but I could NOT stop the snot from flowing today. I mean I could have filled a pint with the stuff. The farmer blow didn't work because there was so much of the stuff going everywhere that I stopped trying. Instead, I would have three-four inches of snot dangling off my nose before I flicked it off. Inevitably it would end up stuck to my knee or leg. It was non-stop fun.

Another strike and a lesson to be learned....always pay attention to what is around you....always. It paid off for me today.

I decided to just take the path slow on the way out instead of the road I am usually on. This is the old route I used to take. As I came up on a portion that goes under a road I noticed a couple of heads on the other side. I thought these might be some walkers who could end up coming at me right at the sharp blind turn of the underpass ahead. So I was cautious. As I made the turn a dog ran around it and stopped right in front of me. I hit the brakes and unclipped all at the same time and everything worked the way my brain told my body to do it. A second dog joined the first one now. Then as I stood there taking a deep breath knowing what could have just happened two women were walking with leashes in hand just chatting away. I wasn't mean, but I simply told them before I took off, "That was very dangerous. I almost just slammed into your dog!"

I might point out this is a path that is clearly marked "Dogs must be kept on a leash."

Had I been going at even a normal pace, I would have T-boned that dog....hurt it, myself and/or my bike. Had that happened, I would have had my high-priced lawyer all over their asses...and would have won too.

I got an casual apology...something to the effect of, "Oh sorry...Yeah I guess it's a blind corner."

That was it.

Tired legs...stupid jacket...kinda cold...snot running down his nose...almost crashed into a dog because of dumb ass people....I turned and headed for home, saving it for tomorrow. Thursday offers me a little more time due to sports on the air at work, so I shall make an effort then to go for 50 miles. We'll see. Meantime, I've gotta go get all the snot washed out of those gloves.