Mid summer

It is said that those things that do not kill you make you stronger. Today's ride therefore must have made me stronger. I admit, however, that I spent part of the early afternoon feeling as though I had achieved the other result. It was hot out there today.

While riding GRider and I both had occasion and opportunity to remark upon the miracle of evaporative cooling. It felt fine while riding but as soon as we stopped there was an almost immediate pouring out of perspiration. As we all know, you are actually sweating that much the whole time. But when you are riding the moisture is evaporating and the rider is being cooled.

So I think I lost a little too much fluid.

Note to self, on really hot days probably drink every four miles instead of every five. I am okay now.

In fact, I am feeling pretty chipper. As GRider says, there is a sense of having accomplished something after having taken a bicycle ride early in the day which makes you feel good and good about yourself for the rest of the day.

As for the photos, they are a trifle overexposed. I am not going to blame that on the heat. That was actually a vision issue. The first picture I took the camera tried to give me an advisory note of some kind but the printing in the camera back LED screen is tiny, I probably can read it if I really try, but I was on a ride, lighting for reading the back of a camera was less than optimal (too bright), I decided to just figure it out later.

The camera was on the "M" setting, manual. Wrong setting for today. I prefer the "P" or the "Landscape" settings. The "Auto" doesn't work properly anymore.

So here is the new softball field, Day 2.I tried to warn everyone who loved that old maple tree that yesterday was likely its last day and as it eventuates, I was not wrong. Even from our house, which is directly across the street from the starter museum visible behind the bare trunk, there is a very noticeable difference in the appearance of that quadrant of vision.

We rode over to the river and then backwards from my usual route, turning back to the northwest towards the University instead of heading further south into Saint Paul. I believe that today may actually have been the very first time I have ridden that route, although, of course, I have ridden that part of town many, many times. We passed through the University campus and emerged on more familiar ground at Ridder Arena.

On the way back towards the Transit Way we stopped by the new football stadium. The 87 counties of Minnesota each have a spot in the exterior wall. We got out of the heat into the shade to get a photo of our bicycles and the GRider near "our" county's spot.The corn is about eight feet tall. That is about as tall as it is going to get though, as a close inspection of the photo will reveal that the plants are tasseling out. The plants will now no longer channel all of that vitality into getting taller and will now set about the process of reproduction for the rest of their life cycle.

Where's GRider?On the subject of annual plants, TOPWLH (note how seamlessly she segued out her role as rider into her role as gardener) purchased a pot of annuals, mostly flowers, to add color to that part of the front of the house furthest away from her now into its second growing season perennial project. She told me that the pot of flowers included, unexpectedly, an egg plant. I was skeptical until today when she pointed out the vegetable growing amongst the flowers.The middle of summer, the middle of the season. It seems too soon, as it always does. The season is just too short. I love my bike.