Sweet Summer Air

Riding my bicycle to Crossfit Sua Sponte has become one of my daily rituals since I've been back in Raleigh. Until this morning, the weather has been mostly rainy, but today the sun has come forth and with it, the smells of summer. These are smells that cannot penetrate the confines of a car, even when cruising with the windows down. The flowers have burst forth, grass is getting cut, and even at 0920, there is a strong smell of BBQ wafting across the parking lot near the box. I wish I could actually ride with Dwight more often, so I could ask him about all the trees and test his memory on all the plant identification he's done years ago. I imagine the summer is easier when every tree has leaves and many of the flowers are at their fullest. Usually a cyclist is moving at a speed that allows for a good guess of the source of a particular smell. If I had my phone on me, I'd take a picture and later identify the source of the fragrance. I invite any of our readers who have found a particularly inviting smell to take a picture and post it to the page, to share a moment of their ride with the rest of us.

Even Susie likes to smell the flowers. These are gardenias.

Commuting Challenge

I've been a slacker - my bicycle riding has fallen off and my writing has been non-existent. I am going to attempt to remedy this. I feel good about myself the more I pedal where I'm going and I feel like I know myself better when I write regularly.

Therefore, I set the following goals for myself:

• Make the bicycle my primary form of transportation. Commute to the job at least 3 days a week, run all errands less than 10 miles from home with bicycle*
• Write about bike commuting at least twice a week.

In that spirit, here's a look at my commute from yesterday morning.

View Larger Map

It's about a 15 mile ride, and when I push hard, I can do it in under an hour. Barely. There are a couple of rough spots; the stretch of Edwards Mill that runs under the Wade Avenue Extension and crossing Wake Forest from out of the Quail Hollow neighborhood. Nothing too hair-raising, though.

We'll have to see how I do with my new self-challenge now that the temperature is rising. However, at the hour I'm leaving in the morning, its not been too hot.

North Cary Christmas Lights

There's a whole nest of great spots here east of Harrison.

Central Cary Christmas Lights

There's a couple of good spots in this neighborhood. The highlight is the whole cul-de-sac collaborative decorations on Melanie Lane

Happy Land Christmas Lights

Tons of moving pieces here, plus a mooning santa. On Penny Road east of Holly Springs Road

Lonely Greenway Squatter

This sad guy was the only one out to greet me on the greenway as I rode to practice the other day. 

Sure hope he finds his home.

Back in Austin

I took my spring break from Wake Tech and traveled to visit Adam, who is now living in Austin. It rained almost the entire time I was there, but I was able to get out on one of Adam's spare bikes the day before I left, after Adam had left town for training.

Austin has some great pathways and an awesome bike culture. Only got yelled at once, and that was by an old friend out for a jog. (what are the chances someone would call me out when I know maybe 5 people in a city of near a million?)

 

Ladybird Lake - just south of downtown

Other direction

 With my long bike ride that day, I was able to work off a small portion of the calories I consumed at the Iron Works BBQ joint in downtown Austin. Besides getting to spend some time with Adam, Texas BBQ brisket was at the top of my list of things I wanted out of my trip.

BBQ Sampler at Iron Works

And of course, the beer. We found a neat place that specializes in local food and beer. This was an Imperial Lager aged in Tequila barrels. Rich and dark, with a hint of sweet, sweet Tequila.

Tasty beer