Yep, I did it again. For the sixth year in a row, I’ve gone out on (and once near) my birthday and rode my age. I’ve had a few friends join in for sections. Then there’s getting free food. It’s a fine tradition with only one problem: it keeps getting a mile longer every year. But that’s what they call a good or First World problem to have. Let’s get to it.
Last night I found three free things on my 23-mile bicycle foray around north central Austin, Texas. Well, technically six things, or 15 if you really want to split hairs. I’m calling it three.
Birthday. The word strikes joy in a child’s heart but apathy or fear in adults. As we age, it seems more and more people care less and less about celebrating birthdays, either theirs or others’. Presents, gifts and cards dwindle. After just ending a very tiring job earlier in the week, and with rain and wind arriving as part of a cold front the morning of my special day, I had not made many plans.
But I still wanted to set out on my now fourth annual quest to bike my age in miles while collecting freebies. While I didn’t hit my goal, I did manage to complete my longest day in the saddle since August 15th (about when the job really kicked off) and my longest ride since June 30th. What follows are some images and info about my day.
Today kicked off the real festival(s) and conference(s), so I put my free badge earned from the many volunteer hours I worked by attending three events.
Introducing Comedy and TV Legend Dick Cavett
Dick Cavett exiting stage right.
I’m not old enough to have watched his original show and probably missed subsequent ones, but I certainly know who Dick Cavett is. He took over the Tonight Show from Jack Parr, and since 1959 has been on television more than off un. Considered “the thinking person’s host” due to his pedigree from Yale and intelligent questioning, he has an identifiable voice and droll sense of humor as well as an acerbic with. This was on display tonight at Esther’s Follies, as the first comedy event of the festival. I was lucky to get in and sat next to a cyclist from New York who said he brought his bike and had ridden 140 miles in two days. Wow! Continue reading →