3.28.2001 Ride: Ahh! Massage.

Yessiree.  It was a beautiful day, especially after the dreary one we had yesterday.  And, within 3 miles, the ride really perked up.  I pulled over and had myself a 6 pack.  Within a couple of minutes, I was on my way again, feeling mighty fine.
I believe I must have stumbled upon the sacred Smirnoff dumping grounds.  I found all these bottles within 20 feet on each other and as I rode off I saw several more within fifty feet.  Since I had both panniers with me, I had no trouble taking the lot. 
I was on my way to get a massage with three stops along the way: grocer, bank and wine store.

John Ray: My very excellent massage therapist.

I kept imagining getting into an accident and the police going through my bags: 6 empty Smirnoff bottles, cheese, mushrooms and carrots and a good bottle of wine.  It would surely have them scratching their heads.
I had my own little moment of wonder as I was riding in.  At one point I looked down at my watch and it read 12:22:22 and the miles I had ridden so far was 2.2.  It seemed as if there should be something mystical about that moment.  I wanted to stop and look around, mark the spot.  Surely, the aligning of all those numbers must mean something.  Perhaps a  message from aliens from outer space. If so, I was incapable of deciphering it.  The last time I had a number moment like that was about 35 years ago.  I had stopped to get gas and my odometer was showing almost all 7s.  When the gas stopped, it read $7.77 (this was when gas was $0.30 a gallon).  I gazed intently around at my surroundings, looking for some kind of aligning of the planets.  Alas, there was nothing that I could see.  Just a freak occurrence when the same number showed itself repeatedly.  Still, it's rather fun and special when it happens.

After all my stops, my bags weighed in at 22 pounds (as I found out later).  Not a tremendous amount of weight but enough for a respectable workout.  I certainly had to be careful as I took curves and corners as I needed a much wider berth.  The ride to my message therapist went well and the massage was great as it had been a while since the last one. 
Walking away from John's place, I spied this black cat perched on the arm of a chair.  He/she seemed to be very regal and confident,  A wise ol' owl-cat.

Getting close to home, I was approaching a spot where I knew two aggressive dogs resided.  There was the one you see pictured and the other was a 100-120 pound rottweiler. They both barked aggressively, but the rottweiler seemed to be trained not to leave the yard.  The other dog would come out but has never really attacked me, just barked aggressively.  I slowed down as I neared and sweet-talked to the pit bull mix as she came near.  She would calm down some but I never quite gained the confidence to actually go down to a squatting position and call her over.  When I snapped the picture she was barking rather constantly but as you can see I captured her during a sweet micro-moment.  A moment later, her owner called her and she disappeared to the back of the house.  Maybe next time I will befriend her.



The return ride home went smoothly and I was home just in time to prepare dinner. No, the bottle of wine wasn't for dinner but for my friend John who looked after our dog Lupe while we were gone.  Looks like a good wine and I probably should have bought a bottle for ourselves.

A picture not taken:  On the bike trail at one point, I saw a great blue heron perched in a tree and then fly off.  I watched it grow smaller in the sky as the trail approached the crossing of a small creek.  Off to the left, in the creek bed, I saw movement; it was a great blue flying low between the banks and underneath a thick canopy of trees.  A moment later, another heron emerged from the low bridge I was crossing, following the other.  Very cool watching the second bird emerge and glimpsing an aerial view of its wingspan. 


Today's Ride: 2hrs. 35mins.  28.05 miles.  46-57 degrees.  Miles YTD: 1,584.87