Cruisin' on a Sunday afternoon

Finished re-building a bike last night after a stint down at One on One for the Artcrank poster show. Good times, lots of bike folk, bought two prints and didn't anticipate spending any money. The free beer formula works wonders for impulse purchases. Smart concept for art openings. That was the first show I'd attended at One on One. How many openings can you find where it's perfectly cool to BYOB?

Anyway, I went out for a rambling ride today, which is something I NEVER do. I'm always going somewhere, and usually trying to get to that somewhere rather quickly. Today, I just rode. I wanted to get off the road, too. It is a beautiful thing that 15 minutes (pedaling) from my house is a nice little network of trails around the Chain o' Lakes (5 or so of the 10K we boast in our fine state.) Nothing techy, and certainly not the gnar, but you can pedal peacefully through the woods and get away from the crowds sticking to the paved bike trails. It was sunny today and the temperature crested 30 degrees. Out of the wind it felt positively divine ... lie down in the grass and take a nap kinda weather. Mostly, I just used the down time to clear my head. For me that includes thinking and pondering just how magical the bicycle really is. You go places on a bike, physically as well as spiritually. Back-tracking, spontaneous turns, detours -- anything goes because there is no destination until you find it. Then, you inevitably realize that wasn't the destination at all. So you get going again.

One of my favorite things about a bike ramble is stopping. Yep, that's coming from someone who basically likes to carry a quick, constant tempo while on the bike. But stopping is nice. I heard the calls of song birds who have migrated back from points South, inspected snarls of cut trees blocking the path, carried my bike over railroad tracks and up steep ravines, snapped a few photos. And I stopped and took in the sun and the sky. I was gone from home maybe an hour and a half. But I returned in much better spirits.

Enjoy life, friends.