Hey Mr. Expensive Bike Guy,

I couldn't help noticing this morning that you weren't whizzing past me on my way to work–the Four Mile Run trail, the Mount Vernon trail, and the Rock Creek trail were absolutely free of guys on $3,000 carbon-fiber Cervelos and Colnagos who don't signal with bells because those add 25 grams. I didn't see even one person in a moisture-wicking lycra suit covered in logos for European utility companies.

Nope, just cyclists with morbidly obese steel-frame bikes with fenders, racks, and waterproof panniers. I saw more runners than cyclists this morning. Runners! Washington, D.C., runners! The kind of people who wear polar fleece both for dining AND working out.

You couldn't have been worried that your clothes would get wet–I can't believe you dress like an extra from a Hungarian sci-fi film in your office. You couldn't have been worried about how the rain would affect your bike–it's made of plastic, after all. You couldn't have been worried about your time–mine only went up by five minutes this morning.

No, I guess you were just scared of a little water. Which is too bad, especially for those supposedly committed to a greener, simpler lifestyle, because there's nothing greener than Rock Creek under a curtain of life-sustaining rain, and there's nothing simpler than this: If it's morning, you ride.

Anyway, too bad you missed the day; it was really good riding this morning. No amateurs on the trail.

Photo by Flickr user MoBikeFed