One of the night shift spiders was happy to show off his work in the yard this morning. May you catch many insects, spider. And stay outside, why don’t ya?
I rode in early enough this morning to enjoy the long shadows. Right after this I tried my new game, to see how far I could coast without turning a pedal.
I made it one mile after which, with two of the softest pedal strokes ever recorded, I made it to the next little place I could glide. This is possible because, depending on which map you prefer, that mile is a descent of 87 or 79 feet. You also have to go through three stop sign-controlled intersections, over a bike lane that students walk in and around both foot and car traffic.
Meaning, if I didn’t have to worry about all of that I could do the last tenth of a mile while coasting. Meaning I could do 22 percent of this bike commute without turning a pedal.
Meaning I’m going to try this one day when no one is around, I guess.
After work — which featured the traditional studio time, punctuated by meetings and other meetings and then some spontaneous meetings — I celebrated the weekend, with a bike ride out to the lake to see The Yankee swim. It was a surprise! We were all surprised.
Her and her swimming friends came in just a few minutes later. We had a discussion about which of the two routes had the easiest climb away from the lake. Everyone there was a cyclist, so it led to a discussion about steepness and duration.
The way I came, the consensus opinion emerged, was longer, the other route was steeper.
Well, turns out they are about the same, because both roads away from the lake are routes up the same hill. So I chose the second route, because we all agreed that maybe it was easier and, besides, I couldn’t really remember the last time I went that way.
Before that climb started, though, I impulsively called an audible and took a right turn. I knew where that road headed. I haven’t been up this road since 2020, and it, of course, was the longest, hardest climb available to me. Precisely what I was trying to avoid.
But I set two PRs as I inched up the spine of that hill, and that impulsive decision let me add on a few more fun miles to the day.
Which was a lovely thought right about here …
Which is also where I remembered that my lovely bride said something about another bike ride tomorrow morning.
