Flowers and falls and racing

The wind picked up a bit today.  It was mostly east but the secondary direction was without any possible doubt south.  Despite the road conditions I headed south, down into the big city.

I was over there in that zone of uncertainty where I have definitely left Roseville behind but I am still in some doubt if I am in Falcon Heights or if I have crossed into the big city when I encountered my first sighting of the year of flowering shrubbery.

Actually, I bet that qualifies as a tree.  It is not of the species that has in the past been the first flower sighting but that's no surprise, everyone will agree that this year is not a usual year.

That tree is on Sheldon Street, the tree with all the oak trees on the boulevard.  It is across the street and 3 or 4 doors down from Larrie's mom's house.  It was pretty today over on Sheldon Street.

I got through dead man's curve on the way south by simply waiting for a large break in the car traffic and moving out into the center of the street to dodge the giant pot hole.  This is a strategy which is easily available Tuesday early afternoon.

It was fun being out over there, there are lots of places in that area that I enjoy riding to.  Like the Falls.

Still pretty grey over there but at least there is a decent flow over the edge.  Note that there is still a small amount of ice under the lip.  It has not been a usual spring.

I had some fun riding back.  I crossed the Lake Street bridge and found a nice break in the traffic right behind a motorcycle to get over into the left turn lane for Otis to ride through the country club.  The light cooperated by changing to green as I rode up behind the motorcycle who was second in the turn lane.  It was definitely a motorcycle, not some puny moped.  Not a big motorcycle but a 250cc or 300 or so, somewhere in that intermediate range, a motorcycle.

I was a little stunned when the motorcyclist failed to get the proper gear as he tried to move ahead and he could just barely keep the motorcycle upright on the uphill to make it through the intersection to complete the turn.  I had to slow pedal behind a MOTOR VEHICLE to keep from running him down.

It developed that it may have been more than a gear problem, the motorcycle may have been having mechanical difficulties.  After the country club I take a circuitous route through the neighborhood to approach the uphill leading away from this location.  I prefer to tackle the hill at a location which is a much steeper hill but which is much shorter than the long uphill direct route over towards the north, my destination.  That's just the way I like to do it.

He went the short route, I went the long route, he had a MOTOR, I had me, at the top of the hill he passed across in front of me as I approached the intersection one block from the top of the hill.  I was gaining on him.

He was taking the same route as me, I passed him again as he pulled over at the top of the hill by Raymond School.  He got going again and passed me as we topped the hill at the railroad overpass.  Hang in there, here comes the best part.

He had to pause at a red light at Energy Park Drive, I was free wheeling down hill, closing rapidly.  He had a bit of trouble getting it going away from the light and I PASSED HIM.  I was a bit worried because I didn't want to be at speed going through the upcoming dead man's curve in reverse, I was worried about the state of the pavement down there.  The motorcycle got back to even with me but suddenly it seemed like his engine was missing.  I pulled in front of him (I WAS going faster than he was) and used him to block traffic behind us so that I could take the center of the car lane.  And a good thing I did because the pot holes on that side of the road could easily have Breyer-ized me and my shoulder if I had to ride through them.  He turned off at Langford Park, never having retaken the lead.

I don't race, but I going to go ahead and take a victory in this one.