Representation

I went on my first "real" bike ride in probably 2 weeks today. (The pavement finally surfaced, after days and days of solid snow floor. Woo-hoo!) It felt so good to work up a little sweat, and pump some endorphins through my suffering brain.

I went on what we call the "Cow Loop," east of town. (Warm Springs / Eckert area... "Harris Ranch.") I saw several deer out in the pastures. And tried to relish the view; it won't be there for too much longer. That whole valley will soon be another sea of rooftops.

[Unless it all gets flooded this year, as has happened in the past. Of course, there are thousands of people in relatively-new McMansions, built during the "drought," who don't have sense enough to live outside the flood plain. If you build 'em, they will come. And except for those couple months in the springtime when they're flooded, it's awesome to live in a house right on the river, huh? But I digress.]

Heading back in, on Parkcenter Boulevard, I had a big ol' pickup truck right on my tail. Which is always distressing, especially when you consider there are three traffic lanes in each direction, and traffic wasn't particularly heavy. It was a Dodge. I could tell by the grille. And it was a diesel. I could tell by the big noise it was making. (Those Dodge diesels, in particular, generate a LOT of noise pollution.)

He got his break, and went on by. (What a STINK those diesels make! Gag!)

The license place was Idaho, and said

SENATE 30

I believe that means he's a state senator, from District 30, which means he's Edgar J. Malepeai, democrat from Pocatello. I checked him out - he's on the Transportation Committee.

Other drivers of big ol' diesel trucks should appreciate the fact that one of "their own" is in the Hallowed Halls of state government. I'm sure he's trying to look out for the interests of diesel pickup truck drivers. They've got it ROUGH these days, what with expensive fuel, bad traffic, not many places to park, etc.

I hope he didn't rush back to his office to craft some legislation to get bikes off the streets, on account of my holding him up for a few seconds...

Oh, how I wish that a state senator would "reel me in" on his bicycle! (I'd be equally happy if a city bus went by, and a half-dozen legislators were hollerin' and waving out the window!)
(-;

(But, to their credit, I've got to hand it to the state government. Although they don't do much to promote alternative transportation, and I believe they've GOT to act - and act soon - on our local mass-transit-or-lack-thereof dilemma - Idaho's bicycle laws are uncommonly common-sense.)