Saturday morning I headed out to do a bike ride. As I passed Wal-mart, I debated whether to stop for snacks and drinks. Stopping finally won out. I picked up my purchases and headed back out to the car, wondering if I had forgotten anything. It was then when I spied my car sans rear appendage. Oh mannnnn, I had forgotten my BIKE !! Apparently I need to add one more item to my "pack list" for bike riding....
I parked at the Chatham County Elementary school on Lystra and headed south on Farrington, wanting to stay "on the flat". Turning right on US 64, I looked forward to my first convenience store stop of the day at the Citgo at the intersection of US 64 and Mt. Gilead. My, how the gas prices have dropped at that place... hmmm, no restroom opportunities here anymore... guess it's a victim of the poor economy. Hopefully it is undergoing renovation, not razing.
I crossed the Haw River. We've had a lot of rain lately and the Haw was in rare form, definitely higher than I have ever seen it. It actually looked more like a mud flow than a water flow. On Friday I noticed a local news article telling folks that now would be a great time to go white water rafting, since the river levels are so high -- very atypical of this time of year. However, "white" water rafting surely couldn't be done in this "red" river.
Trying to avoid hills, I turned around at the exit for Pittsboro and retraced my steps on US 64, crossing Jordan Lake and turning south on Beaver Creek Rd. I tried my hand at some rolling pictures. I don't think that is going to work for me. The ones I got are pretty boring. The ones I missed were "incredible".
On one of the roads -- uh, I forget which one -- the wind must be ferocious. Either that or the price of entry into the community must be a windmill. There were 4 houses next to each other, each with a windmill planted squarely in the yard. I particularly liked this one with its old split rail fence and promise of a "shady wagon" that might have provided a cool spot for eating and drinking, if only I had been able to locate it.
The route took me on an overpass crossing US 1. I have it on good authority that cyclists MUST take pictures on overpasses. However, I had two problems: 1) no cars on US 1 that were willing to pose for pictures. 2) No one to take a picture of the back of my helmet. But I gave it a try and here is the result. Is this a Reverse Panda Shot?I headed home, my knee starting to bother me. I managed to fix that problem -- or, at least, minimize it. At the convenience store on US64 and Beaver Creek, I fell while trying to get off my bike, landing full force on my left "cheek" with the bike on top of me. Apparently my brain isn't good at multi-tasking: the resulting pain in attempting to sit on the seat or spin the left pedal totally eclipsed any piddly discomfort in my knees.
When I got about 1/2 mile down the road, I checked my rear view mirror only to discover it MIA. Wouldn't you know that just this morning, I had taken off the twistie that had held my rear view mirror to my helmet. When I fell, the resulting earthquake must have jarred it off the visor. I returned to the store, only to find a car in the spot where I had fallen. Ever the optimist (and not wanting to pay another 15 bucks for a new mirror) I patiently waited for the car to leave -- yeah, right... what are the odds that the mirrow was under the car and, if it was, that it was not crushed to smithereens? But it did give me an excuse to rest and, amazingly, once the car left, there was my mirror, mostly unhurt. WAHOO !!
While waiting to retrieve my mirror, I chatted with two young cyclists. They were on 2 hr rides, having been sent out on the road by their wives. They were very nice, offering to look for my mirror and admiring my ancient bicycle. Once I found the mirror, they took off ahead of me. I didn't see them and figured they must have gone the other way. But about 10 minutes later they passed me, one remarking on what a "good clip" I was keeping up. If only that were true... As he passed me, I noticed he was riding a fixed gear bike. He said that was his excuse for riding slow... I hardly heard that statement since the two had already pulled far out in front. Oh well, the more I ride the faster I'll get, right?
On the way back up Farrington, I took another look at Jordan Lake near the intersection with Martha's Chapel Road. This is such a lovely place to take a picture. Still not comfortable with riding and shooting at the same time, I stopped and got off my bike for the photo and captured this shot of the poor trees knee deep in water. Seems all sort of beings are having "knee" problems on this fine June day.My PedalPal is fond of taking dog pictures while riding along on the bike. He especially likes action shots that involve loud barks, wild running and bared teeth (usually aimed at my ankles). However, I guess the dogs must have known that the paparazzi didn't have the camera at the ready today (it was in my backpack) cause narry a dog barked or ran at me the whole time... Oh wait, that's not true. One did bark at me... his noise making apparatus was hanging out of the front window of a passing pickup truck, catching the breeze and barking up a storm.
All in all it was a good ride. On my list of things to learn: how to take pictures while zooming down the road (ok...while moseying down the road) and how to get off a bike!
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