Just in case there’s cupcakes
Sunday’s ride turned out to be only 32½ miles.
I had planned on 40-60 miles or so, but nice as the day was, a server maintenance project (always scheduled for Sunday mornings) stretched out until after 3pm.
My plans had been to ride out into the country to visit Bikerjohn, show off Yellow Bike, maybe take a real spin on his new recumbent, then stop at my parents for dinner on the way home. Had to axe the visit/showing off/bent riding due to the late start.
I wanted to see what sort of bike traffic there was on the MUPs (Multi-Use Paths, the generic term for the Riverway, Canalway and Greenway paths I mention here), so that’s the route I chose to my parents. Mountain bikes, hybrids, and kids with training wheels all over the place. I spotted only one other road bike. (Which makes sense because, how many roadies want to deal with Sunday afternoon MUP traffic?)
And I learned that hybrid riders don’t wave when you’re on a road bike, even when you wave and say hello first. Reverse discrimination? Fear of lycra?
Came upon a mom and teenaged son on matching Trek hybrids. She had just faceplanted on the pavement. I did what I could, while I mentally kicked myself for not packing my first-aid kit in my trunk bag. A month ago after a rottweiller knocked me off my bike on the same MUP, I swore I’d always carry one. I even put some of the basics inside a Nalgene bottle for protection and easier carrying.
Further on, two or three moms were herding easily 20 kids on training wheels along the MUP. (Note: I did not word this “were easily herding”.) Fortunately, that section is as wide as a two-lane road with shoulders, so I was able to thread through the gaps.
It’s times like these that I love my Incredibell. (Yes, I even have one on the road bike. What’s 50 grams?) Imagine one old guy instigating 20 kids to ring their bells, to the consternation of the herding moms.
Dinner was venison chops and steaks, marinated and cooked outside on the grill. A wild rice dish and beets on the side. This was followed by coconut cake. Yes, I had seconds. Packing carbs, don’t cha know.
The afternoon’s headwind had vanished and the ride home was wind-free with the setting sun at my back. I’m not sure whether to attribute it to the absence of headwind or to the coconut cake, but I was 1.5 MPH faster on the trip home.
And the cupcakes mentioned in the title? Four of them (chocolate chip with chocolate frosting) packed in my Tailrider trunk bag in the space the first-aid kit might have occupied.
