And, yes, Rt. 96 being closed is making things busier… and I am seeing significant litter on Glenwood Heights Rd. for the first time EVER.

As someone who has put around 1,000 miles per year on her bike for the past few years, much of that commuting, I think safety is paramount when you’re on a non-motorized two-wheeler. A few years ago I took a bike safety course offered through Cooperative Extension that was just great — it made me much more confident in traffic and much more aware of the laws, rights and responsibilities of cycling. They offer it once a year or so. If you do much road cycling, email Lois Chaplin (lec5@cornell.edu) and ask to be put on her mailing list for this course. It costs around $20 but it’s really worth every penny and then some. For all the miles I’ve cycled over the past several years, probably over 3,500, I haven’t crashed and I am rarely honked at or yelled at by drivers. But I try to exercise courtesy, to communicate with drivers, and make myself highly visible by wearing-bright colored clothing and/or using lights. A bike helmet, well, that just goes without saying…

The diversion of traffic down 89 makes it a much busier highway in the morning when I’m riding into work. I can’t wait until the end of September when all that traffic goes back to its regular route down 96. But then, because of the lack of daylight, I’ll probably be back in my car. Or maybe on the bus…