Ride Today

I went on a bike ride with the local bike association today. It was just shy of 36 miles, which is the longest ride I have done. It was in the East End -- mostly flat, although there were some hills in the last part of the ride, and it was windy.

I rode the "B pace" ride, which at first was PERFECT for me -- exactly the speed I wanted to ride. B rides are supposed to be 14 - 16 mph, although I think that we were going faster than that at first.

After 20 miles, we stopped at a store for bathroom break, water, etc. Then, we got back on the ride -- and someone quickened the pace! Lawd, I think they were going the B+ pace -- which was totally not what I wanted at that point in the ride! At one point, we were going up hill and I looked at my speedometer -- just to keep up, I was going 18 mph -- which is fast for me going up hill! Down the other side of the hill, I hit 25 mph -- again, I was just keeping up!

So, another guy and I paired up and finished the race together, leaving the "A-wannabees" to fly away by their damned selves, lol!

Christmas Lights

I got the lights on the hedges yesterday. I tried a new color this year -- purple. But when I lit them, they sort of looked fuchsia. I was afraid that it would look a bit "ghetto," but I think the fuchsia, white and blue do pretty well together!

Garnett's Again

A couple friends and I went to Garnett's again for dinner last night. This time, instead of the "WBLT" (white bean lettuce and tomato), I had a grilled cheese with hot mustard and red onions on rye. It was pretty tasty!

Afterwards, we watched a movie. It was a totally forgettable movie -- I don't even remember the name. It had Ben Affleck in it, but um, I was bored and was texting C during the movie to see if we were still going on our date today...which we did not. He asked to postpone it until later this week, since he is just getting over a bad head cold that he's had for like 10 days now!

New Theme

As you can see, I've changed the theme here at Chez Dragonfly...I was tired of the blue. It's a bit of work to change the theme, because I always overwrite some of the CSS, so that it suits me. And I have to figure out what the class and ID names are in the new theme in order to overwrite. I've been in an orange, red and gray mood for a while, so I think this theme will be around for a few months at least!

Hail

So, I was waiting around for a bike ride today to see if it would warm up any...and it started getting colder...and then the hail storm made my decision about whether I was going biking!

Carrots

I had totally forgotten sowing some carrot seeds earlier this year. I remembered today, and so I got my harvest (after the hail stopped, lol!) --

Friends' Get-Togethers

Tonight, Deege and I went to two different parties -- the first by a male couple in my neighborhood -- they've been in their house for 22 years! The other guests were mostly from my neighborhood as well, so it was nice to meet other gay men in the area! And their house is of about the same time period as mine, so the furnishings & colors were to my taste.

We were probably only there an hour and 1/2 or so before we left to go to the party in the Fan. Enjoyed the second one very much too -- different crowd, but very enjoyable. I'm totally going to be dry tomorrow when I wake up. I have to be sure to drink a lot of water before hitting the sack tonight.

Trojans, Viruses

On a different note -- I was in Facebook tonight, and without clicking anything, the browser URL was suddenly transferred to a different site.

The new site promptly told me how many trojans and viruses were on my system. (I can guarantee you that I have ZERO of those on the Mac...) I was rolling my eyes...

Funny thing was that the site was using a bunch of Windows terminology to warn me -- showing me "My Documents" for example, when there is no such thing on the Mac...or popping up a fake dialog box about Windows alerts...Helllooo -- I'm on a Mac here -- no Windows!







I hate sites like that!

Yesterday, I got a brief bike ride on the commuter bike during the morning (with only a minor turnover on some wet leaves at the park).

And then had a very nice time visiting with my sisters. We don't get as much time as I'd like for just the three of us to be together as adults chatting. Both of them have already commented on how much they enjoyed just sitting around and talking yesterday, and opening birthday gifts, and eating pie (my sweet potato pie and one sister's pumpkin pie).

I took the road bike into Performance today because the chain was dragging against the front derailleur at higher gears. The chain cackled -- the higher the gear, the louder it cackled. I wasn't going to go riding today because the weather is sort of cool, but now that the road bike is in working order again, I'm thinking seriously about getting out. I can tell that I'm going to freeze my tits off again -- I bought a thicker jersey at Performance today, so maybe that will help.

Tonight, heading out with a friend to a couple of parties, and definitely looking forward to getting out!

***
I forgot that this is Friday...so here's an update with some eye candy...

Today was the first sunny day in a week! So, I got my butt out on a bike ride.

It was a good bike ride, but there were several hills that were hard -- the worst was the hill from the Huguenot bridge up River Rd to Cary St. I took a small detour there, thinking I might find an alternative to River Rd -- and the blue arrow shows the only place on the ride that I actually dismounted and walked the bike -- I was just too used up at that point to make it up the hill on Huntley!


http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3322627

Couple of pics from the ride...all the rain and then the wind lately caused some trees to fall. This one was across the road near the Pumphouse at Byrd Park.


View of the river from Riverside Drive --


***
Afterwards, I went to the Byrd to see a "Zen Horror" flick, lol! It was called Mantra. It was odd, no doubt. Very gory. But not scary in the typical horror flick fashion -- more like watching a nightmare. It was set as a bunch of campers attending a new age retreat -- all of them bringing some major personal demons afflicting them (like the wife of one had recently died, and another had attempted suicide several times). Throughout the film, this blue demon figure kept going around and making sure to tempt people with their desires -- sex, food, regret, etc.

I can't say that I could make heads or tails of it, except that people really are caught in their own desires like that...and they don't even know it. So, I'll leave this with a couple of verses from the Dhammapada that seem pertinent to this movie...

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it. (1:1)

Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves. (1:2)
...
By oneself is evil done; by oneself one is injured. Do not do evil, and suffering will not come. Everyone has the choice to be pure or impure. No one can purify another. (12:65)

***
Tonight, I rounded up a couple of friends to walk over to Bev's in Carytown for ice cream. It was my reward for a hard bike ride!

Took a short tour on the bike through the neighborhood yesterday to take some pictures of the Fall foliage in the neighborhood -- the leaves have been pretty gorgeous this year!

















I'm not sure what combination of factors caused the extra nice display this year. Maybe because it got cold for a week earlier in October, then turned warm again?

The weather has been so nice this week, that I've been able to get a bike ride in each night. I don't get to ride long -- just 10 / 12 miles each night before it gets too dark, but it's just been really nice to be able to do that.

On the last few rides, I've noticed that the city is (evidently) draining & dredging all the ponds at Bryan Park. I had no idea that the pond near the Azalea Gardens has what looks like a fountain in the middle of it! I have never seen the fountain turned on!


It is getting dark early, sigh!


The geraniums on the deck are still blooming mightily!


****
Ya know...I'm usually 1/2 way through Christmas shopping by now...'cept I just don't feel like it! I guess I'll get in the mood sometime. You know I like to be finished by Thanksgiving, right?

***
I think that tomorrow is shaping up to be a truly hellish day at work. The "slo mo" crap is hitting the fan, remember? There are 2 meetings tomorrow that promise to be truly shit-slinging moments...on a Friday no less. Three agencies...all with their hackles up...all entrenched.

If I know my boss, she will be exhausted after the last meeting, and will leave early, LOL! I think I will get my ass out right after she does! I do like my boss a lot -- she's been one of the few bosses in my career that I have trusted. She told me that both of us need to stay "on the periphery" of this (aforementioned shit-slinging) issue. I am politically savvy enough to have already realized that and was totally already dancing to stay out of harm's way.

I'm just glad that she and I are on the same page about this!

I haven't had a technology post lately, so here ya go...

For (almost) the first time since I bought my iMac in 2007, I have a case of consumer lust...new iMacs are out. There have been updates since I bought mine, but this is the first time that I wish I were made of money :)

There are a couple of things I like about the new ones --

1. The base model (which is what I have) has a slightly larger screen now (21.5" diagonal instead of 20").
   
2. 4 USB ports instead of the 3 that I have now. (I got around this limitation on my current machine by making sure that the external drive I use for backup is also a USB hub, so I can plug things into the external drive.)
   
3. There is now an SD slot -- although I'm not sure I really would use this. I tend to hook my camera up via USB. Taking the card out of the camera to hook it up to the computer seems like a lot of trouble.
   
4. Of course, the processors are better -- faster than mine, and a choice of either a quad core or dual core, depending on the model.
   
5. The model that I would order (if I was in a shopping mood) would have a minimum of 1 TERRABYTE of disk space. Not that I'm out of disk space or anything...but that's a lot more space than I currently have!
   
6. Up to 16Gb of RAM. I think my current iMac is maxed out at the 4Gb I have installed.
   
7. Thank goodness that the wireless Mighty Mouse has been retired! The small scroll wheel on the Might Mouse collected dirt or lotion or jelly or whatever happened to be on my fingers at the time.
   

   
   I have had to clean mine like once a month! I have been too cheap to buy a new Bluetooth mouse as long as the one I have works, lol!
   

   
   The new "Magic Mouse" (who comes up with these names???) doesn't have any seams at all on top! So, no more places for dirt to collect!
   

****
Anyways, I see that ole' Walt Mossberg likes Windows 7! I think he still gives the edge to Mac OS, but in years past, he really hasn't been fond of Windows.

So, that means Win 7 must be quite an improvement!

I don't think my old Dell laptop will be up to Win 7. I could conceivably upgrade to Win 7 for my virtual (VMWare Fusion) Windows installation on the Mac, but I think there's no reason to -- I only use Windows XP to run Quicken right now, and that's all I use Windows for at home.

So, I don't think I can justify the expense, just to play with a new toy!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298004574459293141191728.html

Since we probably won't get Windows 7 at work until the year 2020, I will be relegated to testing it out at Best Buy on the floor models, lol!

***
It has been hard to get back into working this week! I came back to this mass of e-mails and decisions that happened last week that threaten to derail the project. How can so little work get done in a week, yet so many decisions get made that endanger the project? I mean, damn.

I miss traveling, and I also miss hanging out with my friend in Asheville. You know, I had forgotten that when he moved from RVA to Asheville five years ago, I was sad for a few days (I had also forgotten how very tall he is! He was like, "I haven't grown any." lol).

When I came back to RVA this time, I also felt a little sad to have left him. I'm not sure exactly why. It's not a romantic situation (well, maybe just an itty bit), but it seems that my heart resonates in a certain way with him. There's no way that we would be compatible long term partners, but I was still a little sad after I left.

***
It was nice to get a bike ride in tonight. I hadn't been on a bike in a week and 1/2. It was a short 12 miler, but it felt good -- took the road bike out since the last few rides had been on the commuter bike.

The crap is totally hitting the fan at work...except it is like in slow motion, with polite e-mails being sent..."here is our position on xyz..." and "we look forward to hearing your thoughts" and "we believe we have accomplished what was envisioned in the original charter." Bullshit corporate e-mails, in other words, lol! All the while, the thunderbolts are being placed into position...

I've been so frustrated with one particular item for so long that the thought of having some resolution to this particular issue is putting me in a great mood, lol!

I got a quick hour's bike ride in tonight -- did some of the trails at Bryan Park. Not much of a workout, but I enjoyed it. I was there a bit too late -- had to rely on my "headlight" on the last trail, so I didn't see some of the roots until they were right up under me.

Been "dating" a guy in the neighborhood lately...I put dating in quotes for exactly why you think I did...gotta take the edge off somehow! Ultimately, this is not fulfilling to me at all -- I'm an emotional guy, and I need emotional connections with people. So, this particular "situation" won't go on for long. I'm trying to be open to other romantic possibilities as much as possible. There's one good friend that I wish I was dating, but alas, he doesn't seem to be interested, and you really can't force those sorts of things. And I wouldn't want to damage the friendship.

As I re-read the paragraph above, it recalls the time when a friend told me that I "overshare" on the journal, LOL! I had another friend once exclaim "The things you say!" LOL. But you know what? This is life -- this is not some Disney movie...Ups, downs, dirt and grit...it's all there (maybe a bit less dirt and grit than some folks have, but certainly not squeaky clean).

The other night, my youngest sister and I were cackling on the phone like we do nearly every night, and she told me of a situation where she thought that this former boyfriend had changed his behavior because of seeing her on Facebook. I laughed, and started singing that old "you're so vain, you probably think this song is about you."

So, the other day, when I saw my ex at Pride, I mentioned to her that he avoided me -- actually avoided eye contact even. So I figured he still had a flame for me...or maybe he was jealous of who I was there with or something. I dunno. When I told her all that, she returned the favor of singing the "you're so vain" song, lol!

Ok, I took a chance and went on a RABA ride this morning. I had done a 28 mile ride before, so I wasn't concerned about 30 miles. The only problem is that this was a hilly ride (with a terrain rating of "2" by RABA -- 1 being the hardest, and 5 easiest). So, I was a little concerned about the hills.

This is the description from the RABA site -- this guy was NOT lying about the thighbuster part.

This ride starts off near the Palani Drive restaurant, so named for the road that serves as the final stretch in Hawaii's famed Ironman World Championships. Well, this ride won't be *quite* that tough, but it does feature some challenging terrain. At the beginning we cut through U of Richmond's campus and get our dentures rattled as we cross the Huguenot Bridge. Once over the bridge we will ride along Bike Route 1 for several miles, including a real thighbuster hill up Old Gun Road to Robious Road in Chesterfield before looping around and going back down that same hill. The ride then cuts to the east to Pony Pasture Park, back over the Huguenot Bridge, and sightsee in some of the prettiest areas of U of Richmond's campus (including its hardest hill) before heading home. Afterward, consider grabbing some grub, smoothies, and/or beer at Palani Drive.

But I did well -- ahead of the slowest people, but behind the fastest. I definitely switched into "granny gear" several times -- the hills were just long and steep in some places.

Here's the route. The big hills were around mile marker 13 (Old Gun going up to Robious Rd), around mile marker 19 on Cherokee, then at almost the end (OMG!) going up Boatwright Drive inside University of Richmond (around mile marker 26).

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3238186

Afterwards some of the riders ate at Palani Drive on Grove. While we were there, I saw one of my old bosses from the Keiter days.

Then, I had coffee and an early dinner with a friend at a coffeehouse in Carytown.

Tonight, I intend to go to Ekoji to meditate...but I know damned well that my legs are going to give me trouble there! I may have to give up any pretense of a lotus position tonight, and just sit with legs bent in front of me.

Today was an interesting day at work...I got an e-mail this morning that allowed me to set in motion some events that I believe will resolve an issue that has been a thorn in my ass for the entire time I've been at my current place.

The place where I work churns and churns and churns over issues without getting any work done. It has been so frustrating to me.

But now, the powers-that-be are sharpening their thunderbolts, ready to do war with each other -- and I expect full resolution of my problem to be the result. I expect the resulting light show to be fantastic, lol!

I was laughing and joking all day -- totally in a good mood about the possibility of getting this issue resolved!

I also led a training session this afternoon -- it went well enough.

And then I got a bike ride in this evening.

All in all - a pretty good day :)

Last night after Pride, D dropped me off at Kitchen 64 to have dinner with K and M, after which we came back to my place and watched Valkyrie. I did not know that particular piece of history -- that there had been 15 German assassination attempts on Hitler during the Third Reich -- the 15th being the one portrayed in the movie. It was a nice evening :)

Then, this morning T and I had brunch at Zeus Gallery. Good omelet, but I really liked how creamy and butterlicious the grits were :)

Then, K and I went on a bike ride. I was a little nervous before she got here because she is a high level rider -- doing centuries (100 miles) routinely. But we rode around Northside, and I showed her the houses that I found interesting, did a brief stint in Bryan Park, then back to my house. It was about 18 miles, and was very enjoyable. We are planning another ride at some point.

Here's a pic (in front of ye olde Mulberry) after we got back --


Right now, I'm having a spot of sparkling wine, and then I will probably head to Ekoji tonight for a meditation session.

Moving slow this morning. But not because I had such a big night last night or anything. J and I went out to dinner, then ran a few errands, but we were not out late. But when I got back to the house, I just wasn't in the mood to go to bed last night...hence the slow movement this morning.

I got a bike ride in yesterday, and I'm trying to get my butt moving to get out again today. The weather is beautiful for riding. Trying to decide where I want to bike, and which bike to take.

I'm starting to feel the coolness in the air as the wind on the bike hits me -- I'm realizing that I need to start thinking about what I will wear the rest of the Fall when I bike. I do not have special biking clothes --- I have just biked in my regular shorts and t-shirts. Biking friends are all atwitter saying things like "your cotton clothes don't 'wick' the moisture away" or "the regular clothes chafe."

I haven't had any problem with being too wet or being chafed yet, and if I can avoid it, I would rather not have to buy a lot of extra clothes just for biking. I think that if I do start biking more than, say, 30 miles or so, then I may have to get some biking shorts -- we will just have to see.

A guy that I dated briefly years ago who just recently biked from here to Syracuse, NY! That's like 500 miles or something! In one of his e-mails, he mentioned being chafed and having to make heavy use of Vaseline.

Tonight, I was thinking about going to a meeting at the Ekoji Sangha. The "Meditative Inquiry" group there has a meditation session on Sunday nights. I went there once with a friend a couple of years ago. I thought I might go hang out there again tonight.

After I got home from my bike ride tonight, I was putting a wireless speedometer/odometer on the hybrid bike (I already have one on the road bike). The speedometer (on the handlebar) has to be within 70cm of the "cat's eye" (sensor) on the fork. And the sensor has to be within 5 mm of the magnet that you attach to the spoke.

Well, it wasn't registering, so I thought I would measure and make sure that the speedometer was close enough to the sensor was close enough to the magnet.

Well, I couldn't believe it, but I didn't have one thing in the house that would measure centimeters or millimeters! All my tape measures and yardsticks, etc. are in inches and feet! It surprised me! Surely there's some piece of equipment in the house somewhere that will measure cm and mm!

Anyways, I remembered an iPhone app called "Units." So, I used it to convert inches to millimeters, so I could tell that the sensor was too far away from the magnet.

It was easier to position things on the road bike than on the commuter bike tonight. The commuter bike has wider tires and a wider fork, so it was harder to get the sensor close enough to the magnet on the spoke.

Note to self:

1. If a trail is mentioned by people who are GREAT bikers, be sure to WALK the trail once before riding on a bike...just to be sure that you and the trail are at the same level!
2. Do not ride a dirt trail if there is a chance of rain.
3. Should you decide to ignore note #2, then be sure to bring an old blanket, so the red river bank mud doesn't get all over the inside of the Subaru!

So, some friends had told me about a "strenuous" trail along the north bank of the river. So today, I decided to try it. Now, mind you, the friends can ride 100 miles on their road bikes...way beyond my level.

I just have to do a gay aside here -- as the (straight) friends are telling me about the trail, they unintentionally mention gay cruising spot after gay cruising spot. I found it amusing. I have never cruised outside -- it's not my thang at all...but I know about the spots. The friends are talking about the trail starting near the Byrd Park pumphouse (spot!), then going to where you have to go off trail at Texas Beach (spot!), and end up down at Belle Isle (spot!)...lol...when I told them this, they asked how it is that they didn't know about it...I told them it was "cultural," lol...

So, I go down Pumphouse Road, park and get the bike ready. As I am getting ready, a couple of 20 somethings show up. They look like someone rode them hard and put them up wet (not a bad look for one of them), and one of them has blood dripping down his arm. That should have provided me my clue...

Anyways, I talk to them, and they suggest riding the south bank down and the north bank back. So, I cross the Nickel bridge and find some steep assed way to get on the south bank trail.

I ride to Belle Isle on the south bank of the river. And then, I road around Belle Isle for a couple of loops.

I cross to the north bank, and have no clue where the north bank trail starts (it's above the Belle Isle parking lot, by the way.)

It starts to rain, so I stop for a while under the Lee Bridge, and check my e-mail and post to Facebook.

I start the trail up again. OMG!!! The south bank trail is mostly flat, but the north bank has steep hills, and sharp drop offs to one side, and big rocks in the trail. And it is raining. Hard. I have to admit that I walked the bike up most of the dirt (I mean, mud) hills to get back to the car. There were some hills that were so steep, that my feet were slipping as I was pushing the bike up the hills.

Did I mention that my balance is just ok, and that there were steep drop offs to my left most of the way. And that it was raining?

Anyways, I made it back okay. When I got off trail at Texas Beach (as the signs instruct), I decided not to get back on the trail and just to bike through Byrd Park, so that I could get back over to Pumphouse Road.

It was fun to do. Really, I had a good time. But I want to try it again when it's not raining. The rain/mud was sort of a drag. I had to hose the bike off when I got home.

Here is a north bank trail picture. What I'm trying to show here is the drop off that is directly to my left, as the trail starts up a steep hill --


This is at Belle Isle --


I had absolutely no intention of getting so dirty today, lol!

So, my friends who are big into biking made me aware of a concept that I have never even thought about in my wildest dreams -- guys who race bikes (like say, on the Tour de France) do NOT stop to pee! They just whip it out and let her rip...

Okay...okay....first off, I'm pee shy, so this sort of situation would present a problem for me anyways. Second, I have enough trouble not making a mess while standing up at the urinal, so what do you think is going to happen when I try to balance on a bike while I take care of bidness? Thirdly...as much as I like guys, I'm not sure I want to see a guy doing the over the shorts or under the leg thing...

In the link below, there's a picture (from behind, to show technique) of guys taking a nature call while biking. If you zoom in, you can see the stream of liquid to the right of the guy in the blue jersey in the back.

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2006/01/23/how-to-pee-whilst-riding-your-bike/

While I was at Bryan Park the other day, I saw a cyclist waiting patiently on the street, while his buddy biked up to face a tree and put his hand out to hold himself upright on the bike. His back was too me, but I assumed he was experiencing sweet relief.

The cookout at friends' house yesterday was enjoyable -- it's just nice to have lunch with old friends. My eyes were watering afterwards though -- they have cats, and even though we ate outside, I still got the whammy.

They are big into biking and now that I have a road bike, they were giving lots of advice, lol! They were surprised that I don't carry a tube around with me on the bike, lol! I told them that it is only lately that I have started biking any distance away from my home.

Last night, I went to Capital Alehouse to attend a fundraiser for Haitian kids. I really liked the female singer in this band. She has a great voice!


My intent was to get up early this morning and try a trail out on the north bank of the river -- but I drank a little too much last night, so I had that weird alcohol sleep -- where you sleep at first, and then you wake up thirsty and can't sleep.

So, I'm going to get a ride around the neighborhood before I hand out with Deege later today.

Got my road bike back...unfortunately, I can't go biking! My knees are sore -- I did a 1/2 split maneuver the other day (to get to something that had rolled deep under the car, but without getting on the ground and getting my pants dirty). I think that's when I hurt my knees :(

As a friend said...not a very lady-like maneuver!

Gotta give the knees a rest! Dang, I get tired of my new found aches and injuries! Is this what it means to be 40 sumthin'?

****
I have a CD renewing at the credit union. OMG! The new rate is going to be low. What happened during the last year?? I mean, the rate they want to pay on the CD renewal is like what a standard ole' savings account would have made a few years back!

****
So, I've lost a bit of weight, right? I don't shop for clothes a lot -- I have a standard set of clothes that I wear -- when an item wears out, I buy the same thing again, lol! (I know, not very gay, but I think I missed a fair number of days at gay school...)

Well, every guy needs something sort of dressy for Christmas party type events -- more than "business casual" but less than "dressing to the nines." I had 2 outfits -- a green herring bone jacket with black or brown dress pants and a brown suede jacket that I wore with black dress pants (or sometimes with blue "Docker" type pants).

Last night, I hit Macy's with a coupon. I bought exactly one pair of brown and one pair of black dress pants -- to replace the ones I had that were too big.

I tried them on with the jackets tonight -- and now I think the jackets are too big!! I have switched down to the next sized shirt...so I guess it makes sense that the jackets are too big. I guess I need to do some more shopping. This weight loss thing is not all it cracked up to be -- it's getting a little pricey!

****
I don't have any big plans for this long weekend. Heading to a cookout tomorrow during the day. I have this desire to get out of town for a day..but nothing has really caught my fancy yet.

Today was a good day. Any time the fire from heaven doesn't come down and burn the flesh from my very bones at work, then it's a good day. I work in a politically charged environment, so I make lots of jokes about the place -- you just never know what's going to happen when you walk in the place, especially given that we missed our (highly visible) rollout this past weekend.

The team is de-moralized. The head of the department used my favorite phrase -- "It is what it is" LOL!!! OMG!!! Fucked up from the flo up...

Anyways, it's probably tiresome that I keep talking about biking, but since the red (road) bikd is in the shop, I got the silver (commuter/trek/hybrid) bike out tonight and biked in the park. It was a lot of fun! I did a trails and alleys...things I cannot do with the road bike.

These yellow flowers seemed to be growing wild --


Young's pond at Bryan Park --


It's nice to see how much use Bryan Park is getting. Lots of soccer going on tonight. And there was a team of runners. And often you see bike races.


One of the things I love about my house is how the light filters in. It's an arts and crafts house, and both the morning and evening light can be very nice. This is the light from the sunset when I got home after the bike ride tonight.