Where were we?

Around noon sun time today I found myself dressing in completely different clothing than I have been wearing for the past week.  I asked TOPWLH why it was I dress in this costume.  She said something about a "bike?"  I was puzzled to be sure but apparently once you have learned you never forget how to ride a "bike".

And it felt great.  I love my bike.

Six days of rain.  TOPWLH coined a new acronym to describe it:  2M*R.  But just look at the blue sky.

Lots of us have been there, the four crab apple trees at the top of the hill in Shoreview.

A definite outcome of the truncated spring is a truncated flowering shrub season.  But six days of rain, everything is green but the trees are already nearing the end of the cycle.  This is another one of my favorite spots, the pink, white, pink sequence, also in Shoreview.

I rode past my favorite tulip yard out there, one that has a nice selection of orange tulips.  Too late, mostly stems.  Lots of the really colorful, fun things about riding in May have been completely missed this year.

*sigh*

Today the wind was mostly east with a little north, making the ride to the north a ride with mostly a cross wind, not too punitive.

About the time I turned back the wind shifted slightly becoming much more from the north.  The north wind was a tiny bit chilly, it was not warm out there today, but when you put the wind behind you mostly what you feel is pretty strong.

The blues and the greens at Vadnais seemed particularly vibrant to me today.

I have fallen into a pattern of checking my average speed at the quartile mileages of the expected ride.  Today the first quarter WAS slow but each succeeding quarter featured an increase in the average.

I got stronger as I went along (and I got the advantage of a favorable wind change).  I felt strong, I felt good, I love my bike.