Though I wasn't able to get on the bike until close to 3:00 PM, the biking journey for the day felt as if it began when I left for my morning walk and a fiery red sky was at the end of the road.
Sunday is the day that I stop and pick up donated produce for Community Meals. At the store, I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a long time. I got to know her when I coached her daughters in softball when they were in third grade, nine years ago. That has always been a memorable season for me because of one of her daughters. The daughter had a slight build and was not the strongest athletically. She had approached me during one of the practices and let me know that she didn't want to just play in the outfield. This was a sad fact of life for even young kids playing rec sports; coaches would stick the less athletic players in the outfield where there was less action, which is where she had been put the year before. I told her not worry, that I had no intention of sticking anyone in the outfield all the time. My plan was to rotate players every game so that they had a chance to play both the infield and outfield. She wanted to play third base and that's where I put her. She struggled with the position but she was intent on improving, her throws to first always falling short of the mark. The highlight of the season was when a hard hit ball came to her which she cleanly fielded and then threw to first, the ball reaching the first baseman in the air. I was so proud of her and I could see the joy in her face for making such a great play. It's all about believing.
The donation was quite the bounty today and I thrilled at all the fruit. It takes me about an hour to organize the food and find room for it in the walk-in. Perhaps because of the gorgeous weather outside, the church seemed extra quiet while I was working away. Going outside to dump old produce into the compost pile, my itch to get on the bike would intensify as I got a new taste for the wonderful day. Having all my bike clothes on probably didn't help either. Finally, the task was done and I headed for the bike trails. 
I opted for the bike trails as opposed to the open road as I was in a social mood. Today felt like a spring day with the tree sap running strong and people's spirits running high. Within the first mile, I passed a couple who I also knew from many years back from when our kids were in pre-school and we hadn't seen each other in years. It is one of those ride-bys where recognition doesn't come until just after the fact. I turned around and we talked for several minutes. I pushed on until I passed an interesting threesome. I turned around and asked if I could take their picture.
From left to right:
Jordan, Dalton and Emily.
It turned out that they were on quite a trek of their own today, walking about 10 miles.
The trails had been plowed, which I thought was great, leaving them free of any ice or snow. But there was still lots of water in places. Being on the mountain bike I plunged happily through them, enjoying getting sprayed.
I took several pictures of the spray coming off the front tire but was never completely satisfied with the result. I like this one the best because of the yellow speck on the upper right of the tire. I'm not sure if it is reflecting the yellow line on the trail, my yellow shirt or is merely some light aberration.
A bit later, I came up on another friend, Larry Long. We rode together for several miles and then I turned back.
That's Larry on the right, me on the left, in case you were wondering.
The ride back, with evening coming on, was much quieter. I felt as if I had traveled to a destination (the ride out with all its encounters) and now I was on the long journey back. There was one more encounter with friends as I was coming out of the tunnel. Though my entire outing was just a bit over 2 1/2 hours, I felt as if I had been riding all day, which I mean in a very good way.
I did have one more picture to take within a half mile of the end. I came across Matt with his unicycle and I had to include him.
Today's Ride: 2 hrs 15 mins. 26.4 miles. 58 deg. Miles YTD: 753.96
A BIG Thanks to Ann Marie & Joe Ziegler for their very generous one time donation to Biking for Food.
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