The Ride In

The temperature was in the upper 30's. Almost no breeze. A cloudy sky was supposed to clear off and be sunny later in the day. The high temp was supposed to be almost 70 degrees. 

The ride home should be( to use an overused word) AWESOME!

I put in the fleece glove liners even though I wasn't sure I would need them. Turned out to be glad I did. I remembered from the last time I rode that all of the vents in my helmet were open. I decided to close them before I put on the helmet. Glad I did, again (even though my neck got a bit chilly).

As I left the driveway, one of my neighbors was walking out to his driveway to get his newspaper. I don't know the guy well, but like him and we waved at each other. He very well knows that I haven't been able to ride to work for a long time because of my medical issues and we both seemed to realize that it had been a long time since we had seen each other this way in the mornings.

A space between cars opened up on the busy street close to our home, and I sort of gunned it to get into the flow of traffic. The acceleration felt good and I proceeded south on Woodlawn.

I then turn west on Central Ave to head downtown. Central Ave is not my preferred way to go, but when schools are in session, my favorite way to go is not as fun because there are 2 schools on that route and there is lots of traffic at the schools. So Central it is this morning. That's okay. It's a little faster, not as much time to watch the sights, but okay. I get behind a long line of cars and wouldn't you know it, the car immediately in front of me is just a bit slower than most of the rest, but traffic doesn't provide any option to get around him. 

Alas, I'm in no hurry. And that is part of how my life has changed. A friend uses the term :"carpe diem" a lot and I have taken to that a little bit. At a stoplight I take a moment to look up and watch some birds, take a look at the clouds, and generally take in the surroundings a bit. How often it is we don't do that.

It's trash day for a lot of people and a lot of trash carts are pulled up to the street. I notice one has fallen over and the contents (consisting mostly of filled plastic bags) are lying on the ground. For a moment I think to myself about how those plastic bags decompose very slowly in landfills. How they accumulate in ocean and lake waters. Ahh, better living through chemistry.

As I ride I feel the sensations on my body. I am not cold. The winter gear has kept me warm and it is not a long ride, just about 15 minutes. My neck is a little cool, but it is exposed to the air. My fingers are feeling some chill, but not bad at all. Max is running like a top.

A little later I notice a Subaru following me, much like my famous Canadian Subaru, the one with the heated seats. The main difference is that the one following me is red, mine is blue. There is a lady driving and I wonder whether her speedometer speaks in kilometers rather than miles. 

I eventually change into the left lane and she passes me on the right. Yep, it's the same year as my car. Then behind her is a guy in a black Porsche Carrera. Really Nice Car! Max seems to puff up his chest as we ride near the Porsche. I wonder what would happen in a race! LOL

A few blocks later I get behind a cement mixer. There is a new YMCA being built downtown and I wonder if the cement truck is headed there, but it turns off before getting to the construction site. I think briefly of stopping to take a picture of Max near the fence at the construction site, but decide, Naaah. Maybe some other day.

I am now close to my parking garage so I proceed on. I make the turn to the garage and enter it having to go to a lower level to my parking space. As I get "downstairs" I notice that Max will have a friend to talk to for the day. They don't normally park very close to each other, but today I parked Max for a moment next to his friend to take a picture.