50% Chance of Rain

Which also meant 50% chance that it would not rain. That's the 50% that we hoped for and that is what we got. Mike, his wife Julie (welcome to our madness Julie) and John came up to Millbrook for the regular Sunday afternoon relaxer ride. The winds stayed light, the dogs stayed on their porches, and the cars (while plentiful in some places) never got in our way. As we had a first-timer along today, we stuck to the flatter roads but still got in a very nice afternoon cruise. The one downhill on Cobbs Ford was fun. I worked hard to try for 40 mph but only made 38.5. If you have seen the fat semi-knobbies on the Saluki, you'll understand that near 40 is a quick pace for that hound dog.

We took the 8-mile run out to the Elmore Store, and Mike entertained us in the parking lot. For a minute he may have thought he was on a fixie, and tried to do a wheelie spin. As it was, the bike tipped over and he unclipped on the upside. Sadly, the downside was the one which would have helped the situation. The good news is the bike was unscratched, having fallen on top of him. He said he was none the worse for wear. Where I would have DIED of embarrassment, he was a cool cucumber about it. He does this all the time, he says...

The rest of the outing was free of failures of either the mechanical or rider varieties.

Couple today's fun with yesterday's club ride in Pintlala, and the year is off to a nice start, ride wise. John noted that we even have more miles logged than Bilee on BikeJournal! That will not last long, we know. (We ONLY count outdoor miles, however; she writes down every turn of her cranks, trainer stand or roadway!)

In other news, we attended a visitation at a funeral home on Friday night for the mother of a friend at church. She was advanced in years, and at peace with sure faith in where she will spend eternity, so it was not a sad event for those reasons. Of course, it's always sad to lose a loved family member, but there were positives to be noted in this instance. As we made our way along the line of family members we met Susie, a daughter-in-law of our friend, who lives up around Birmingham. She asked, as she shook my hand, if I had filled the pulpit at our church on occasion. Yes, I did in fact -- three years ago during the time between pastors, while the search committee was in operation. There were a number of guest speakers and I was an emergency back-up plan. She said she remembered it because she really got a lot out of what was said. I have to say that was so encouraging to me, as I am chronically sure that I fall short of getting out what needs to be said clearly and interestingly. It was the opposite of what I expected when we went to the visitation. We were there to console and encourage, not to BE encouraged. And a reminder that sometimes it's the message, and not the messenger that matters, anyway.


Here's hoping that everyone has a good week and that next weekend works out for some riding as well.

Tailwinds

B