illicit, stolen ride

I had hoped to go on Tom H's ride today, but it didn't work out.

We've finally actually started doing what I was hired to do all those months ago, and I got the first weekend on-call. I thought on-call meant I just had to carry a company cell phone... but the metric for response time is measured by entries in the computer system, and there's dodginess about security and adequacy of response on cell phones (HIPAA and HI-TECH, for those with healthcare knowledge).

So the decision was that I couldn't be more than 30 minutes away from a computer with a secure browser and internet access. So my on-call has turned into a modified house arrest; in any case, I can't do my beloved 45-to-70 mile rides on days I'm on-call. (Those of you who know me well: can you IMAGINE how grumpy I was when I heard that? An administrator who was in the room when I got the news remarked on my possible instability. I'm glad I'm a union worker on permanent status.)

Not to be outdone, though, I decided I could do one of my usual from-home routes. Since the ride is usually just over an hour, there are only a few points on the ride where I'm over 30 minutes from home.

I decided to risk it.

I brought it in just about 1:06 door-to-door (well, they're both our door, aren't they?). I went pretty quick, for a 61-year-old, and I saw the Kim's ride coming down as I was going up through Millstone (I heard a couple of the guys call, "Mr Jim!" I gotta drop in there and let 'em know I wasn't just blowin' 'em off).

So there. Even in the face of adversity and employment, I was able to get a ride in this lovely morning. Since then, I've improved upon the time by attending to chores that I've been avoiding either because the weather interfered, or because I was riding (hey, if the weather doesn't interfere with the chore, then it probably doesn't interfere with the bike, either).

Here's hoping you've been doing something fun, too. Anyone?

Edit May 29: Got in another one this morning.