Election Day

I did my public duty today and voted. -Senior Cyclist

I did my civic duty today and headed over to my local polling place . . . -A Traveler at Home

I got no excuse. I was just trying to have some fun. Ah, that's not true. I did my duty as a citizen by doing something that I always enjoy, I voted.

I detoured off from the usual start of my ride and rode past the polling place.I assure any and all that I didn't actually interrupt my ride to vote. As we all know, how ridiculous you look in your bicycling clothes is directly proportional to your distance from your bicycle. I don't think FirstLOOK would have been welcome actually inside the Community Center gymnasium where voting was occurring. The distance from the bicycle would have been great and my appearance would have been beyond vaguely interesting, completely through outlandish, all the way to perhaps that person should be arrested. There was NO voting in bicycling clothes.

How it went down was TOPWLH detoured on her way to work to vote and I rode along with her. I then walked home. I was wearing a Castelli jacket but even that is a jacket really designed for regular off the bicycle wear. It does say Castelli but that is as close as I came.

Shortly thereafter I WAS riding.

This was the display at the corner of Cleveland and Larpenteur. Lots o' geese, an entire gaggle, at least.That isn't even an official lake that I am aware of. I personally think it is just that when the streets were constructed that surface water drainage was obstructed and water has backed up in the back yard of that church. There is a wetland kitty corner and a lowish corner of the golf course on a third.

I was in Minneapolis yesterday and I must have enjoyed the experience. Today I set out to do it again and this time ventured much deeper into Minnesota's largest city. I was determined to take my bicycle to another bike shop that it has never been too. I rode all the way to the foot of Lake of the Isles to Kenwood Cyclery.There used to be a bike shop here. A really nice bike shop. That's the corner of West 21st Street and Penn Avenue South and I swear, the last time I was there they had an antique Bianchi motorscooter in the window and a really choice Waterford with Record hanging on the wall. On that occasion I was not there on bicycle business but as is my custom, I bought something, I think a tube.

I was in such completely unfamiliar territory that I ended up riding on a bunch of streets that I know I have never ridden on before. I ended up in a couple of spots where I pretty rapidly concluded I shouldn't be there. But, final result, home unscathed.

It was a little bit warmer today. Light weight jacket, lighter weight gloves. It was a very nice day for a bicycle ride.