Vernally Speaking

I suppose that it's a good thing that the Earth continues in its useful course around our Sun, although the shorter days are not at all to my liking. The absence of 98 degree days is fine however and I find some comfort in that. We cross the equinox now and there is less light each day from now until the Winter Solstice in December. Our weekend club rides start a little later in the mornings, for reasons related to both ambient light and temperatures. I don't mind an extra hour of sleep on Saturday mornings either.

Yesterday, 7 of us left from the Pintala Baptist Church for a 32 mile ramble. It was a lovely morning and the brisk headwind gave us a good cardio workout. I took plenty of turn at the lead, but shared that duty willingly with others. The air had the first crispness to it, and there is color appearing in the maple leaves. It was a great day for a football game, or well, a bike ride.

Today was the relaxer ride at 2:00 PM. I expected maybe 3 people, but 10 showed up! we almost filled the little parking lot. Jim brought his son out for a first group ride. I hate it when a 7th grader makes me look slow... One rider decided to turn around early and shorten the ride up. She was on an upright rail trail bike with plump tires, and the headwind was tiring her out.

Here's a picture I shot of most of the group over my shoulder.
Tom was alongside at the time, politicking heavily for that city council seat he hopes to win in the Oct 7 runoff. So far, he is only pitching a chicken in every pot. I tried to get him to move up to spare bike tires in every garage, but he complained it would take too much money away from the long term grass growth study the city is doing. They're seeing how long they can go without mowing. It costs a lot to watch grass grow, I suppose. At least he doesn't think that he is the change that he has been waiting for.

I was on the Saluki today. I am still trying to decide which bike to bring to the MS 150 next week. I rode the Rambouillet last year. If the weather may get wet, then the fenders on the Saluki will clinch the deal. Other wise I'll probably decide the night before I leave.

In other news, I am really pleased with how a fountain pen repair I did for a Tasmanian penpal came out. Not to bore with an excess of detail, but I got a very old nib from a German brand to write flawlessly in a limited release modern Japanese pen. I kept the original Japanese nib in trade, and will work on it as a project this winter to get it to write well.

Tailwinds!