Wow it's a beautiful night. Patrick went on an errand all the way out in Palmdale (I know!) and I came home to an empty house (well, my three cats and mostly dead houseplant were happy to see me). I decided it was time to get on the bike again. I went out a little earlier than the last time - by the time I'd worked myself up for it, changed clothes, pumped up my tires, put on my helmet and exchanged the stale water in my water bottle for fresh, it was about 7 o'clock. According to the references I referred to (some anonymous website I'm too lazy to find again and link to) the sun set today at 6:39, but it was still dusky and light-ish out when I left, and I felt comfortable enough with just the lights on my bike and my light gray Gap sweatshirt to leave off with the bright green poncho I usually wear.
I tried a slightly different route tonight - I went down to Bellflower, rode up to the park at Carson, and cruised along the bike path through the park. Later in the night this is fine, but because there were lots of kids still playing soccer and people walking around on the path, it felt a little too dark and treacherous, so once I made it to Woodruff, I made a right and decided not to go around that way again. I went in a bit of a circle, crossing back through to Bellflower by taking one of the through streets close to my own house, and then when I got to Carson this time, kept on Bellflower all the way up to Candlewood, and took Candlewood to Woodruff. It meant a few more lights, more traffic, but there's a bike lane most of the way on Bellflower, and all the way down Woodruff, and I felt safe enough. On Candlewood, I was beeped at by a couple of kids on the other side of the street, and it's always fun waving at strangers on bikes. Why is that, I wonder? It's akin to the feeling I get in petting friendly but strange dogs when I'm walking around Santa Monica.
Once I was back in my own territory, I did my usual ride down Woodruff to Los Coyotes, back up to Bellflower, and then went in a couple of circles. At some point the sun went down completely and it became totally dark, and, surprisingly, almost instantly cooler. It was a nice ride (almost 12 miles, as you can see from the newly reinstated bike log on the right), I went a tiny bit faster than last time, and though not full, the moon is way gorgeous tonight. When I got home, I stood in the driveway looking at it. Also, getting my breath back under control. And adjusting my bike pants.
It's a Waxing Gibbous Moon, which doesn't sound half as pretty as it looked.
No comments:
Post a Comment