May 17th... Cedar-Yellowpoint Ride

As soon as the studio closed at 5:00 pm, we got ready for a ride. It was so hot. My bike's been sitting in the sun all day, sans cover, and the seat is hot. So this turned into a lesson for me! I got a rash on my keester from being toooooooooo warm! Found myself squirming on my seat with discomfort. Fancy undies are not meant for a bike ride... gotta make sure I stick with cotton. Wonder if I should warn Flo.... Nah, she's been riding for three years. Good old polysporin and I'm all better this morning. Anyway, discomfort meant a shorter ride than I'd been thinking about all day.



It does feel delicious getting some of that warm wind in my face, leaving the visor up and wearing sunglasses. My mom rode an Indian in Australia when I was just a little girl. She wore shorts, a sleeveless shirt knotted under her breasts... and I thought sandals, but just learned that she'd go barefoot. What delicious rides she must have enjoyed. But I can't help but wonder how the heck she'd kick-start with her little bare feet. And she liked her speed, and they wanted her to race professionally. She scared the crap out of my dad, and he finally convinced her that she could not race because she had two little girls to raise. I think she still wishes she'd done it though. She's getting up there in years, but plans to be a passenger on a few rides this summer. The picture of her here is with our oldest son, Everett, on his Virago just a couple of years ago.



My sister and brother have no real interest in riding... I guess I'm the only one that got that gene and it took me 57 years to figure it out. Better late than never!

I'm really happy about my calm riding in the face of a dog charging me as I rode by. I'd seen him and veered a little more to the left, giving myself more room if needed to avoid him. When he charged, I just gave the bike a little more juice and ignored him. His snarling and barking mouth notwithstanding, I somehow knew that there was little chance of him getting a chunk of me. I am an animal lover, and dogs, well I'm crazy about them. But if they want to charge me while I'm riding, well, it's me or them and guess who I'm protecting. That makes twice I've had a critter obstacle to contend with, and me and my Hussy have done well and I'm proud. It builds confidence to successfully cope with these kinds of scarey obstacles. The fact that I'm not freaking out just makes me so happy.