So this morning I was running late, Antonio woke up in the night, and ended up coming into our bed, which I guess was enough to throw me off. I slept through my alarm, so when I was finally done eating breakfast and walking and taking care of the dogs, it was already 6:17 am when I got on my bike. I knew it was going to be a close call, as my bus leaves at 6:30, and there was slightly under 4 miles for me to cover, but I didn't want to just wait for the next bus, as there were some severe thunderstorms rolling through Atlanta, and I was afraid that if I waited, I may be caught in one while on my bike.
So off I went. Luckily I was catching all the lights, so that definitely helped me make up a bit of time. About 3 miles in, I see a sign that says road closed in 1000 feet. I thought to myself, oh great! If I have to turn around and go a different route, I definitely was not going to make my bus, and maybe get caught in a thunderstorm. . .
So I went ahead hoping that I'd be able to maneuver around whatever was ahead. So I approach the road closure, I try to make out what is going on via the single beam and the flashing pulse coming from my lights on my bike, as this section of the road doesn't believe in street lights and the sun was still an hour away from rising. There were two bulldozers blocking the road, with one sitting in what appears to be a giant hole. Luckily I was on my bike, not a car, so I hopped up onto the curb ducked under one line of yellow caution tape, and rode on, trying to make sure that I didn't strike or fall into any unexpected hazards that I may not notice in the darkness. All the while I am thinking to myself, I can't slow down too much, or I am going to pull up to the bus stop to only see the back end of the bus as it is pulling away. I get through the construction, and see the other line of caution tape, and decide that I am not going to slow down, (as time is getting really close to it now being 6:30) so I attempt to bunny hop the tape, and luckily even with the wait of my pannier bag on the bike am able to get high enough to get over the tape, and have it slide under my bike. I think to myself not bad, a little urban cycle-cross.
Now just the last mile to go. I definitely felt God's help as I pull up to the intersection at Sugarloaf and Brown Rd, and the light changes to green, so I am able to sprint right through without stopping, and then catch the next light to turn into the bus stop. I got on the bus, and actually had thought to myself this was a rather adventurous commute to start off my work day with.
