Undecided...

 

What to title this post... I considered "Holy Week" or "Cheating Death."  Only marginally related.

This is Holy Week on South Padre Island.  It is an event, like Spring Break, except this is more Mexican Nationals who used to come in droves this week before Easter.  The last few years, it has been less of an event; the Mexico economy hasn't kept pace with the US.  Last year, Covid shut down everything... pretty much the entire island was shut down during April.  This year, we hear the border is "closed," but there are apparently people going to Mexico from the US, and goodness knows there are people from south of the border getting across (in record numbers), most illegally.  Those wouldn't be the ones coming to SPI to stay in condos.

Driving around on the island today, it wasn't hopping.  There were a few cars with Mexico license plates, but nowhere near what we've seen in the past.  Not that much traffic, either.

Which leads me to that other title I was considering.  If I didn't know better (not sure I do), I'd say the drivers who were there were out to get me.  This was a first: I got passed on the right.  No, that isn't the first.  The main road on South Padre Island is a 4 lane with a median in the middle (which is kinda what "median" means).  There is a nice bicycle lane on both sides.  Yeah, you know where this is going: I was in the right lane.  Doing the speed limit.  An asshole (using that term loosely, because an asshole is a necessary part of the body) in a cab passed in on the right.  In the bicycle lane.

I got off the main road, driving north on Gulf Blvd, and a dumbass (no dumbasses are not necessary) left turned in front of me.  It wasn't a close call, because I slowed down as he approached, no turn signal on, he was on a cell phone and very obviously not looking where he was going.  I looked to make eye contact, and when it was apparent he couldn't see anything because he had his head up his ass, I covered my brakes.  Yep, he left turned.

Further up that same road, a guy "right turned" me.  He came out of a condo driveway and stomped on the gas to get out ahead of me.  Yes, I was, once again, not surprised.

The final driving insult came when I was at the stoplight to head for home.  The light for me turned green, I looked to my right and there was a car that was going to run the light.  That one wasn't close, because I've seen it happen frequently at this light... it is the light just before heading across the causeway - people are fixated as they're heading to South Padre Island.  Or, just stupid.  This one was the most serious, because the guy was accelerating through the red light.  Not yellow, not pink, but fully red.

That is 4 potential accidents in about an hour and a half.  None of them a "near miss" because I really do ride defensively.

On the bright side, I had a good ride - I would call it a mental health kinda day.  Yeah, you have to watch out for the assholes, but it was good to get out on the Vespa.

And a few fun images...

 

Looking up the nose (well, that's where my phone is mounted)...