It wasn't a particularly fast ride, and we didn't go anywhere special, or travel any roads that I haven't been on before. Nonetheless, I really needed this one. I've had a bit of low-grade depression goin' on, with general doldrums and boredom. Recently, I've been reading China Mieville's Perdido Street Station, by which I've been awed: the detail and depth of the fantasy world in this book defies my attempts at description. And I just ran into Sara Bareilles video for her song, Brave:
... and I got to feeling like I'll never do ANYTHING as well as Mieville can write, or she can write and perform. So I really needed to get out on some hills today, and push some pedals uphill and into the wind. It worked; there is a substantial reduction in the cobwebs between my ears, and my mood is markedly improved. (The Excellent Wife (TEW) is relieved at that, I assure you.)
At the last minute, more or less, Ed had to cancel, and since I hadn't responded to Cheryl, she thought it would be just she and Ron, so the three of us did this ride. Windy and hilly it was. We didn't do Poor Farm, but we did Goat Hill, along with heading up io Mt Airy, and going up Quarry out of Lambertville (yeah, they're not Federal Twist or Fiddler's Elbow, but they'll do for today). I had not counted on the wind, which seemed steadily in our faces all the way to the break in Lambertville. I could hear that there was conversation between Ron and Cheryl, but I couldn't hear much of the content due to the wind (and some age-related hearing loss that I'm denying really exists).
Cheryl doesn't like Rojo's in Lamberville; it's too expensive and to chi-chi for her, so we stopped at the Lambertville Trading, where the welcome was warm, the coffee hot, and the toilet empty (Yay!). They had recently had a 30th anniversary; there's a terrible picture below of a sign made of coffee cups.
Ron's derailleur was one that was recalled by SRAM; he's got the new one now (along with a couple hundred dollars worth of other new parts), and he seems happy with it. It was good to see that flat-black bike of his out again.
About 43 miles; good enough for a first ride in two weeks where I've been out of shape (I've been eating all the wrong stuff, and that's why I'm doing the Seeming Verb Weight Loss Challenge). Cheryl offered to put in some extra miles, but time, cold, and tiredness persuaded Ron and me that we'd had enough, so we came back.
There's still time to get in on the weight-loss challenge. I've got about half-a dozen takers, including TEW; I'll post the names of those who've agreed soon. If you're interested, email me or post a comment.
Pics below, of course:
Above, the 30th-anniversary sign in coffee cups. Below, proving we really were at Lambertville Trading; that's Ron below the sign.
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