Hey there!  Yes, you, reading this blog.  Let me say thank you.  I really appreciate it.  You’re one of a select, special number of people who will see this.  That’s pretty cool.  Sure, it might be nice if thousands saw it, but I kinda like it like this.  It’s more intimate.  Although I’ve never met most of you, it’s like I’m telling a handful of friends about my bike ride.   So yeah, let me tell you about it.

Fryday

For whatever reason today’s 100+ F temperature didn’t seem as hot as yesterday’s 100+ F temperature.  And not able to do another night ride, but needing to run some errands, I suited up and headed out.  The suit was comprised of sunscreen, my boating hat with the sides and back that fold down, arm protectors, and spray sunscreen on the legs.  Bike shorts under Colombia shorts from REI, and a Land’s End button-up short sleeve to help protect the neck but that evaporates sweat easily.  And a little string back-back.

First stop was the downtown post office, which isn’t far since I’m housesitting.  It’s a nice old neighborhood with old wooden houses, cemeteries, and historically it was an area settled predominantly by African-Americans.   Unfortunately it’s being gentrified and people displaced, but that’s another blog.  At the PO, I saw a friend from my job search team.  She again offered to buy me lunch, which was very nice.  That’s because I was the one who sent her the job ad that she was perfect for and she got that job, it was a good feeling.  They had just extended her contract, so that was good news too.

Bike Shop #1

Moving on, I went north past the University of Texas and headed for Bicycle Sport Shop.  Since I had run into a few workers there on a ride the night before, and I was careful to find air conditioning and water, it seemed like a good place.  I had a nice long chat with the manager Katie.  We talked about how we both kinda hate the scooters because the operators are idiots, and other things.  I said hey to Cody and Jacob the mechanics, and also Garrett the sales guy.   It’s good to know people.  Reminds me of that TV show Cheers, “There’s a place where you can go where everybody knows your name.”

After that, I headed northwest past where I had been dogwalking and hopped on the Shoal Creek.  I was getting hot.  The neighborhood pool looked very appealing, but it’s closed now that school has started up again.  But I wasn’t overheating or going very fast.  I did a little sprint on Great Northern, a long mile and a half road that lends itself to that.

Bike Shop #2

Continuing up til the road ended and did a u-turn, I then stopped by Sun and Ski Sports.  I chatted with the manager Bill about all kinds of things, not just bikes, and with the sales guys James and Brandon (pictured below).  Matias, one of the mechanics, came in, and I congratulated him on his 113-mile ride to San Antonio recently – on his mountain bike.  Brandon the bike-builder came in too.  I got more water and air conditioning plus the free wi-fi.  I shared my little discount as a S&S Pro with a guy buying ski boots, which was fun.  (I hope he reads this and makes a comment and buys me lunch.)

But soon I wasn’t feeling too well.  The heat despite my leisurely pace and frequent stops was getting to me.  So proceeding home, I took some time to cool off and enjoy a PowerAde Zero (is blue a flavor?) and some M&M peanuts and a little TV time.  My Garmin watch was almost out of juice, so I turned it on to compare to using my phone.  I returned back to the housesitting in Part 2 of the ride for 5 miles.  Time for a cold shower, food, a alot of water, lotion, feed the cats, and to chill out with the second half of Jerry Before Seinfeld.

There’s no earth-shattering revelation here.  Good times.  Just that how it goes when you bike is always interesting to me.  Who and what you see, how your body deals with the effort, how your mood may improve, and struggle and reward.  Another day in the life of A Dude Abikes.

Happy Fryday to ya’ll out there too.  Did you ride your bike today?  How did it go?

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