Have you ever felt like the summer was disappearing before it started?

Well, I have. And I do. Every year it seems to get shorter too. Let's see, it's the third week in May, and the official start of summer isn't until the 3rd week of June. Still a month away, and I already feel like it will be over before I know it! I'm still working into my warm weather routine of commuting to work on my bicycle several days a week. I have my first bike tour of the season coming up in 4 weeks, and the second just a month after that. When I get back from my Canadian Rockies trip it will be August! OK, I'm not going to think about it - I'm just going to enjoy the season. Slow down!

Boots on the road

This weekend was a short but very enjoyable visit with my parents (and Mama's boy and king of the house Brandy) in Chadwicks, NY. I headed for home at around noon, and I had to laugh as I was driving down the somewhat high-speed road to get to the NY Thruway. All of a sudden, there was a boot in the middle of the road. (Yes, a boot, one of those things you wear on your feet.) Hmmm... a half a mile later there was the other half of the pair. Do you think the boots flew out of a vehicle accidentally? Maybe the first one, and maybe the owner tossed the other one later realizing that the first had disappeared. Very strange.

Back on the bike, a nice commute

The weather forecast was good, and the sky way clear as I headed to work on my bicycle - my favorite mode of commuting. But wait - what are those clouds up there? It got grayer and grayer as I got closer to the office. I was sure that I'd be riding home in the rain. But what a beautiful day, no rain on my bike!

Don't believe the weather forecast, ride your bike!

Bad decision this morning... the weather forecast called for possible thunderstorms this afternoon, and I let it guide my commuting vehicle for the day. That is, I drove to work. Turned out to be beautiful out, if a bit muggy. Luckily I had enough sunlight left when I got home to get in a good bike ride. Nice!

A birthday card and a nice quote

My friend Sue sent me a birthday card with a very fitting quote in it: "Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling." I liked the quote, and I wondered who wrote it, so off I went to Google... and the quote is attributed to Margaret Lee Runbeck.

Hawaii reservations...

I started calling to make reservations in the B&Bs and somewhat funky hotels I chose for my October escape to Hawaii. When I called the Kona Tiki Hotel last night, the person who answered the phone made it sound like it was probably a problem that they only had a room with a kitchenette available - because the room has two beds, a queen and a twin, and I am only one person. I assured him that having an extra bed in the room wouldn't cause a problem for me. I stopped short of telling him that my bike would be happy to have a bed...

Brandy says thanks for your good wishes...

He's home after a 2-day stay in the dog hospital. The vet suggested a visit. Hmm... how does that work? Visit the crazy dog in the hospital and he insists its time to go home. Luckily it was time to go home. He keeps trying to tell our Mom that she didn't get what she paid for since he's sure he was supposed to get real food, not just IV food!

The trees are dressed in new green finery!

Wow! It's amazing what a few days of warmth followed by some rain will do. Yesterday at the office I noticed that the trees and plants were really popping, green and flowering. And this morning as I drove down route 125 the canopy of leaves was filling out. Wonderful!

Send your wishes to help Mama's boy Brandy...

...who is in the doggy hospital with another bout of pancreatitis. Brandy, you don't really want to join your brother Caesar, do you? Our mom & dad need you at home, and we're all sending good thoughts your way to help you heal!

Vacation decisions... not one, but three!

After having major vacation indecision for what seems like months (it really wasn't that long...), I've finally figured out how to maximize my vacation time and my biking time. It was about four weeks ago when I settled on my first trip - a week (in late July) riding in the Canadian Rockies, starting in Jasper and riding south to Banff and then on to Calgary. OK, one week covered, but that's not enough for the year. I settled in to travel planning with plane, train, hotel, and hostel reservations. All set...

Next my thoughts turned to Hawaii again! Well, why not? I did ride there just last year, should I go back? When? Fall sounded like a good time, a way to extend the biking season but to still be in reasonable shape with lots of mileage on my legs. I kept checking air fares, and they were crazy expensive, so I checked for available seats using miles. Excellent, I can use my miles for a late October trip. That's it, back to Hawaii with my bike. That decision was made just last week, so I'm still working on the reservations. I know where I want to stay, just have to make some phone calls to the B&Bs and the funky hotels.

Not done yet... I've wanted to visit Nova Scotia for a long, long, time. It's supposed to be beautiful and a wonderful place for biking. But I just didn't want to go for an entire week. I think I've figured out a reasonable long weekend trip that will give me almost 4 days of cycling in Nova Scotia and a day in Maine. Sounds good, that's slotted into mid-June. This is the trip that's the closest on the calendar, and the one for which I've done almost no planning. It figures that I'd do my planning in reverse! Guess the Nova Scotia planning is next on my agenda.

Three vacations to three beautiful places - what riches!

Riding into a strong wind is good for me, right?

It was a windy ride today, and I kept telling myself it was good training... My bike didn't care, but my legs did! Today's loop ride was mainly out and back, heading to the west along the north side of the Merrimack River, and heading back to the east on the south side. It's an interesting route in that I had no jump out points to make the ride shorter - other than turning around and riding the same road back. It's quite a distance between the two bridges that I used. I must say I was very happy to reach Lowell and my turn around point. The wind that was trying to push me backwards on the outbound leg became my friend as I turned in the direction of home.





Carrying a camera as I wander on my bike lets me capture some of the strange (and/or beautiful) things that I see around the way. This statue was in a yard not too far from where I live. I'd definitely categorize it as somewhat strange!