After delivering the kids to school I planned to attend the Grand Reopening of King Street Station’s Main Waiting Room, but it felt like the universe was conspiring against me. At home I was plagued with various wardrobe problems and equipment problems, but I eventually got the trailer assembled (to drop off at preschool), sort of attached my light, and headed out…only to run into traffic problems galore. This truck in the bike lane was the least of my worries.

At the bottom of Stone Way a guy in an SUV revved his engine and sped into his left turn as soon as the light turned green in order to tailgate the driver of a small car who turned right on red into the lane first. The tailgated motorist pulled over into the bike lane to let the SUV driver pass. And behind them came a man in a minivan with his cell phone to his ear. I came along slowly after all that excitement and wondered which of the three was the biggest threat to my safety: the road rager, the victim of road rage, or the distracted phone talker? I think it was probably the car that pulled over to escape the road rager.

Then I still saw a driver run a red light, met with a driver coming the wrong way up a one-way street towards me, and waited patiently while a construction truck turned left through a red light at the intersection I was about to cross. Sheesh!

But I finally made it to Back Alley Bike Repair, bought a new lock (one of my many equipment problems), and biked to the train station with Ben Rainbow. We didn’t notice the bike racks hidden by the construction fence–the outside of the station still needs some work–so we locked up against a planter.

I moved to the bike racks after Ben returned to the shop. There are seven of them. Covered! And nicely spaced for big bikes! Amtrak currently doesn’t allow cargo bikes on trains, but at least they can be comfortably parked while conducting business, picking up friends, or while figuring out what to do upon being denied passage.

And the train station lobby is gorgeous:

Heading home I passed by City Hall Park and saw the “chandeliers” the Bubbleman makes from discarded six pack rings and zip ties. And I didn’t experience any more bad motorist behavior.

Today’s miles: 19.8
April miles: 312.1