Extremes

The last couple of weeks have reinforced in me the notion that I don't really ride in extremes.  For example, I missed some time in July because high temperatures were 15 or so degrees below average for those dates.  An early September run of temperatures a tiny bit more than that below the average has induced another run of, no, sorry, I guess I won't be riding today.

Of course of the last four days there were also a couple of those days when it WAS RAINING.  I hate riding in the rain but I, of course, hate even more riding in the rain when it is TOO COLD.

But today's high temperatures promised to be within less than 15 degrees of the average high.  The sun was out, it never feels quite as cold when the sun is beating down.  I stalled and stalled and didn't really want to drag all of that end of October gear out of storage but eventually I did.

It was 56 at the Cattle Barn at 2:40.

Which turns out to be totally acceptable for a guy who can judge conditions correctly.  I am 100 percent positive that there will be multiple hundreds of miles ridden between now and snowmegaddon, quite often with temperatures in the 50s.  I believe this because without having ridden for a couple of days I today totally nailed the gear necessary to ride in today's conditons, those same 50s.  Well, not quite, I did have to return home at 1.88 miles to add the long fingered liners under my bicycle gloves but other than that I looked out the window and predicted what gear would suit the conditions and went and rode in total comfort.

Tights, long fingered gloves, three layers on my torso, two layers on my arms.

Late in today's ride I arrived at a place where I may not ever be again.  And in an upset of major proportions I have finally figured out how to get this photo into focus even with my pocket camera.

I have a setting on my bicycle computer that records miles ridden total in 1/100ths of a mile.  The trip up function only goes up to 999.99 before resetting at zero but today I reached 11, 111.11 miles ridden on this bicycle.  Here's what that looks like on the "trip up" function.

But then, of course, there is total odometer function.  Which at the exact same spot where I took the above photograph I with only a single click of the change display button arrived at this display.

I say I may never be at this place again.  In truth, I still own one more bicycle with more than 10,000 miles ridden cumulative but less than 11,111.

So who knows?

The most interesting thing about those photos to me is that after several years of not being able to get that shot into focus with the pocket camera I have apparently EUREKA figured it out.

Corn reports have been at a minimum this growing season but here's what is probably a last one.

Most of the corn is down although there is still some over there in the distance frame right center.  Most of the corn is down.

Lastly, even a luddite loves it when after abandoning some old school really no longer relevant technology he discovers that there is a luddite more lud that I.

I caved to modernism this year and got the giant HD TV.  I gave up a giant and still functioning cathode ray SD TV.  It worked just fine, sorta like this one.  I did not have a tape measure along but that looks suspiciously like the 42 inch Sony I had dragged out of our TV room by the guys who delivered the new really BIG TV.

But, and I don't think this is totally insignificant, mine was a Trinitron.  That thing at its best was an off brand.  I promise to keep checking back but honest to gosh I cannot imagine anyone wanting to have that 200 pound behemoth inside their house when a giant HD TV weighing in at about 30 pounds is available.

Great day for a ride even if the temperature was a bit on the lower extreme of what is acceptable.