Today it was 59 when I started.
But 59 is actually pretty good because . . .
All together now:
I have the gear.
It was a nice sunny fall day. I intended to ride into the relatively light SE winds down towards the Capitol. To do so I generally ride over towards Lake Como and then catch a left turn off some north south street on the south side of the lake over there. When I arrived at that intersection today there was one of those really well meaning SUV drivers who was totally committed to yielding to me the right of way that he/she clearly had.
They mean well, they really do.
But for me to do what he/she wanted I would have to ride in front of the giant SUV.
The death zone.
There are no reported instances that I am aware of of bicyclists being killed by being BACKED OVER. It is always, always, something out on the front end of the motor vehicle.
They mean well, they really do but I really, really want you to GO so that I can ride into that space BEHIND you, the space where no bicyclist has ever died. This seemed a pretty reasonable course of action to me because a) the SUV actually had the right of way and b) if we proceeded in the manner that I preferred there was virtually no chance that I would end up dead.
But the SUV was totally committed to yielding to me the right of way that he/she clearly had. In order to avoid riding into the dead zone I chose to just skip the turn, instead continuing straight ahead along the south leading route.
Happenstance, happenstance changing the planned route. This happens a lot actually. Today because of the route change I ended up in that big cemetery over on Front Street.
I was riding by one of the gates on Front Street and just on a lark decided to see what the length of the route around the inside of the cemetery would be if I always rode as close as I could to the edge of the cemetery.
I rode in, turned on the first pavement to the right and always kept taking the turns that kept me on the pavement closest to the property boundary. Eventually I rode pretty close to all four corners of the property and arrived back at my starting point with an accumulated distance of about a mile and a half. Based on that distance I am going to estimate an 80 acre cemetery (half mile on the long axis, quarter mile on the short).
It is one of the oldest cemeteries in town and I almost always find something new of interest, something I hadn't noticed before. This is a monument erected in memory of departed firemen. That monument was erected in 1891.
How does the sky get that blue?
I was riding through a park when I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye and briefly thought I might have spotted some more of those red flowers. But no, I fear that part of the season is gone. Instead what I had seen was evidence of the maturity of the season, bright red berries.
Usually all I get is a blur.
I got home and it is still here.
Neighbor's give up way too early maple there on the left in the process of giving up way too early for perspective (and a tiny bit for scale).
3 comments:
I know what you mean about the well intentioned drivers who want me to ride in front of their cars. I usually pull out my water bottle and drink -- that convinces them of my intention to wait for them to leave before I cross the street.
Lots of time I turn or go straight based on some minor event at an intersection. I figure it's like taking hints from the universe.
The Macro setting doesn't work that well for me, either.
Lovely tree. Nice day.
Makes me think I should maybe retire too . . .
Great statue -- the details are cool when I clicked on it. The hat, the child, the long jacket, the mustache ...
Gear is at least half the battle.
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