Well, Ride the Drive (mk. II — the Northside) didn’t suck, at least not nearly as much as I thought it would. Especially based on my experience at the downtown Ride the Drive earlier this year.

Some reasons that it still sucked (more than necessary):

• Roads closed in only one traffic direction, especially Northport and Troy Drive. Dangerous in several different ways.
• The left turn into Warner Park. Just messy, because of the way it was only half-assedly routed past the median strips.
• Rude women with rifle-sized squirt guns.
• Paul Soglin. He’s still short-sighted prick.

Some reasons it didn’t suck (as much):

• Substantial involvement from the neighborhood — businesses and private citizens alike.
• Some really nice roads, especially Harper Road and Woodward Drive.
• Good company (the COTSW)
• Coffee and pastries at Manna with the COTSW beforehand.
• Beautiful weather (mid-70s, partly cloudy)

Oh, and that I was able to hose down the woman with the rifle-sized squirt gun with about half the volume of a borrowed water bottle (chapeau, Markham) after she’d rudely squirted us the first two times through.

Such things just make my black heart glow with the blackness of a thousand black holes.