Did I mention that I love riding my bike to work? I pass all sorts of childhood memories such as the creek that my brother and I used to play in as kids, the soccer field I once got my poor grandmother completely lost on the way to, the community center where I used to take gymnastics lessons and behind which are the annual Vienna 4th of July fireworks, and of course my first elementary school, Vienna Elementary.

Also, biking to work reinstills your belief in the compassion of Virginia drivers (I must admit that this happens somedays more than others). I cross about 15 different streets in the middle of rush hour and there's always someone willing to come to a dead stop just to let me pass, one car today stopped and waited for me before I'd even gotten to the intersection. It's really, you know, heart warming.

Somewhat less heart warming and bordering on terrifying are the amount of birds that buzz me along the W&OD trail. What's up with this? I'm convinced that they lurk in the bushes just waiting for a biker to come by so that they can fly exactly at head level straight across the trail about a foot in front of you. Most of them are cardinals too so frequently all I see is a blur of bright red speeding directly at me from the corner of my vision. Cardinals are evil.

Now, I'm sure that they are recruiting rabbits and chipmunks. This morning a rabbit dashed out from a bush right near the border of Fall Church and Vienna, I was so surprised I swerved and the rabbit seemingly unphased ran along the trail for a couple feet before disappearing back into the bushes. A chipmunk did the same thing only last week. It's a vast conspiracy of rodents and birds, all of them trying to kill me!

It's ok though I guess, as long as they don't recruit the Deer and the Groundhogs, I think I'll be able to keep my sanity.