Wind and gas prices - they both blow

Woke up this morning to just what the weather man had promised - a cold front moving in from the north. Of course a cold front in August is just wind, so big deal - unless the wind is blowing northward.

This particular front was blowing due south, which is ideal for the morning commute. After rolling west down Dublin Blvd. onto Vincent, by the kennels, I broke up the morning meeting of wild rabbits where Vincent meets Nevada Avenue. I wonder what those rabbits are doing? It's like I'm breaking up a board meeting.

One of the benefits of the bigger crankset is speed. Heck, it's the only benefit. With the wind this morning, I achieved a new personal flat-road speed record of 34.5 mph, but still managed to miss the evil stoplight at Austin Bluffs. This involves some heavy braking, which is why I will never own a bike that does not have disc brakes.

As I approach work, I ride by several service stations as Circle Drive makes its way under I-25. As of last evening the Shell station was selling regular for $2.51/gallon. This morning, regular was $2.85/gallon. There's something very criminal about a 34¢ hike in gasoline prices overnight. I don't know if it is gouging, supply/demand or just plain old greed. There are so many theories, and Economics is not a perfect science, like math is. Perhaps my friend Jim, who builds up a head of steam and has somewhat of a conspiracy theorist's slant on the modern world, could author a short dissertation on this.

I don't care how expensive gasoline gets. The only power I have is to not buy it, and I do that by riding my bike everywhere except on dates. So yeah, everywhere. Come winter time, riding in snowy, icy, 15ºF conditions is no fun whatsoever.

Let's hope the wind turns around and blows north over the next few hours, eh?