Mother's Day

Mother's Day with the Mothers and Grandmothers.

And her hand in her mouth.  Don't worry, I got a bunch of others for the parents, many of which feature no hands in front of her face.

I got home in time for a ride and I therefore also have some bicycle content.  It was over 80 today and I recognized that a temperature featuring that number was going to require some costume adjustment.  I ended up riding in full summer costume, including no base layer and sleeveless jersey (and SPF 50).  I had to look around to find my favorite sleeveless jersey but I had a pretty good idea where it was and when I found the jersey I also found my usual gloves.

Today was also my first destination ride.  My fitness is improving rapidly and I knew I could ride far enough to get someplace instead of just riding around.

A person who reads this blog had alerted me a couple of weeks ago that there was a bloggable event occurring near the Capitol.  The alert came to my phone (zoot alors) in a text message which included a photo.

I went to take a look.

Our State Capitol Building has been the subject of a couple of years long renovation project.  And if I do say so myself, it looks great.

The morning newspaper reported that the last remaining crane will be coming down some time this week.

That's not it though.  The miracle which requires blogging is in the foreground.

I have blogged multiple times about the travesty committed on the Capitol Mall during the renovation project when the dim bulbs working inside that building decided that they didn't want to walk a couple of blocks or shuttle or ride the train or anything like that.  Instead they tore up the Mall and turned it into parking.  I feared that the rule was likely to be that once it becomes parking it will be parking forever.

I was wrong.  Thank goodness.

The parking lots are gone and golly gee that sure looks like they have prepared the area for reseeding and are getting ready to put the grass back in.

Zoot alors.

On the way home I got "nice biked" by a guy who may actually know what he was talking about.  I was near Como Park (a pretty horrible place to be on a bicycle on a big holiday with perfect weather) when a youngish fellow leaned completely out the driver's side window of his car to say to me, "I really like your bike frame."

I said, "Thank you."  That frame is plenty likeable.

We were going in opposite directions and I didn't have time to tell him that he would almost certainly also like my components and wheel set.  Given time to actually look at the whole bicycle I am sure he would have upgraded his compliment from just being of the frame to the whole thing.

23,126 miles and counting.