22 Nov 2011 Ride: Day Tripper

Another drab, damp, cloudy and chilly day; at least from the outside.  All wrapped up in layers and finished off with a yellow shroud, I'm ready to head out into the world.  An errand ride.  Equipped with my panniers with the yellow rain slickers pulled over them, one would mistake me for someone out on a long trek.  That's okay as motorists tend to be more careful and respectful when approaching a bicyclist packed down.

I'm actually off to the grocery store in a very round about way taking 26 miles to reach the stores which are about 4 miles away, as the car drives. 

Right here should be a nice shot of the river which is full from all the rain we had last night.  However, the two shots I took but ended up focusing on the branch right in front of my face leaving the river nicely out-of-focused.  Perhaps next time.

A good ride, though a bit wobbly at times leading me to think that I had another flat until I remembered that I was carrying bags and the wind was probably catching them. 

It's been many years since I have seen a "mud" worker on stilts.  It brought a smile to my face passing him.

My timing at the grocery stores seemed to work out well as I arrived during a relatively quiet time in the hectic shopping day two days before Thanksgiving.  With my bags well-packed, back home along the short route of Hwy 45.    About a mile from home, a truck behind me starts honking.  A warning?  A heckler?  How about my son.

He pulled over for a few quick words ( and a photo).

Keeping the posting short as I'm about to head into the kitchen to make dinner.  There is definitely a  withdrawal of sorts going on from the heavy biking from the last 6 weeks.  It feels wrong if I ride less than 30 miles.  But even if I kept it to that for a week, that would only be 210 miles which is making progress in scaling back.

Today's Ride:  3hrs 12mins.  32.1 miles.    46°-50°  Damp, Cloudy.  Miles YTD:  9,267.06

Number of miles per day needed to reach 10,000 miles by the end of the year:  18.79

Donations for Biking for Food, which support the Community Meals at St Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, AR, can be sent to:  Biking for Food,  St Paul’s Episcopal Church,   224 N. East Ave.,   Fayetteville, AR  72701

Or, make a pledge per bike miles ridden at  www.stpaulsfay.org/bikingforfood.html.

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