Post-maintenance check ride

May 9, 2022

Serving other purposes as well

YOU COULDN'T ASK for a more pleasant day; it seemed all the more so after the string of cold, wet, miserable days we've had recently. By contrast, today featured a brilliant bright sun in a faultless blue sky. Temperatures climbed into the upper 6os, and although there was a gentle breeze it really had no impact.

My wife having discovered that the City is dispensing PCR test kits free for the collecting, two per person, I was therefore dispatched to go collect a couple. The distribution center being on the other side of town, maybe five miles away, it seemed the perfect opportunity to check the results of the drivetrain replacement handiwork I carried out over the past weekend. (All is well, on that front.)

Naturally, there were other objectives added to the ride. I've recently bought a sun shade "brim" that gets added to my bike helmet; I saw one in action when I was in Florida as well as having seen photos of them in other journals here. But, it doesn't play nicely with the decades-old helmet mirror I use so an alternate mirror - the type that attaches to my glasses rather than my helmet - seems to be in order. There's an outdoor recreation retailer just a few miles from home, so a stop there was added to the agenda once the PCR tests were procured.

And of course there was the simple pleasure of being out for a ride, no matter how mundane and pedestrian the principal purpose might be. I've not ridden in nearly two weeks so it was high time for at least a little saddle time.

The route was a mix of "suburban combat survival" style road riding, hiker/biker trails in a wooded stream valley / park, and residential streets. In other words, pretty much the usual for what amounts to an errand-running local ride.

A short, easy ride over familiar roads.

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But it wasn't without its pleasures. It being a nice day, people were in generally pleasant moods and so I got a fair number of smiles and waves. At one point, as I lounged in the Adirondack chairs outside the outdoor store, one of their bike mechanics rounded the corner and enthusiastically commented that he liked my bike. Later, I was passing a construction site where some townhomes or condos are being sheathed in Tyvek; I've been on the lookout for a couple large scraps of the stuff and presto! there they were for the taking.

I always like to ask before helping myself, even to what are obviously scraps, so I did. The guy who was busy nailing the stuff to the sides of the new buildings replied "Sure- $100 and it's yours." "Oops, I don't seem to have that much on me. How about 'free' instead?" And so the deal was struck; we chatted (if having a conversation with a guy 20 feet in the air on a hydraulic lift can be called "chatting") for a moment about what I was going to use it for. "It's going under my tent", I explained. "Ah yes- camping! Great idea for it."

With my prize folded and stowed (it's good that I have a voluminous handlebar bag, and that it was otherwise nearly empty), it was onward toward home. But before I got there I stopped for a delicious dark chocolate milkshake, at a place in Town Square. The City puts out chairs and benches in and around the square and today they were especially inviting, what with the bright afternoon sunshine and pleasant temperatures and all.

It won't ever be mistaken for its European counterparts, but the little square in town had some of the same pleasant vibe today. It meant I was in no rush to finish riding and get home.

That milkshake was absolutely delicious. Never mind that it more than replaced the few calories I expended to get it.

Now I'm home, pleasantly full of milkshake and relaxed from an easy ride. Life doesn't get much better.

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