24 November 2017

How I--And Arielle--Gave Thanks

I certainly had reason to give thanks yesterday.

Just after I posted, the friends who'd invited me for dinner called to say that the start time was pushed back--from 2 to 5 pm due to an "emergency". Whether it was in the kitchen or elsewhere, nobody said.  Not that it mattered.

I didn't mind.  You see, after I posted, I glanced outside and was treated to a picture-perfect late-fall morning:  The sun, totally unimpeded by clouds, mist or anything else (well, nothing that I could see, anyway!), set the last red, yellow and orange foliage aglow and burnished the brown leaves with a warmth, to the eye anyway, that felt like brick fireplace just starting to spread its heat.  


It was so beautiful, I didn't care about the temperature--which stood exactly at the freezing mark.  How could I not ride on such a morning?

Or afternoon?  Arielle, my Mercian Audax called, and I hopped on.



Well, I felt so good  The brisk air braced my skin and I saw almost no traffic anywhere.  In fact, in this normally-busy shopping area, I saw no traffic at all!



Now, if that picture

or this one



looks familiar, it's because the shopping area and the "Connecticut quarter" tree are, in fact, in Connecticut--Greenwich, to be precise.  I felt as if the town, the hills I climbed on my way in, the roads and the world were mine, all mine.  OK, I shared--with a few other cyclists I saw.  

I don't normally boast (really!).  But I couldn't help but to tell everyone about the ride I took--140 kilometers (about 85 miles) round-trip.  

The food was great.  And I felt absolutely no guilt about how much of it I ate.  I'll be eating some of it today--  there were leftovers for everyone--and I'll get to re-live, for a moment, a fine Thanksgiving Day.

5 comments:

  1. I once took to the road during a world cup soccer game on TV, it was as if almost everyone had died in their sleep. I was heading for somewhere which might usually be unbearably crowded but was perfect. There should be more regular mass distractions...

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  2. Are you sure you were not cycling in Derbyshire, England? I had that weather, and temperature, on my riude today ...autumn bliss

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  3. Coline--I once had a similar experience when riding on the day of a World Series game.

    Peter--It'll be our secret, OK? ;-)

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  4. A few weeks ago we rode through Greenwich on the way to visit my sister her home in Stamford. The parts we saw were not as nice as those pictured--very heavy traffic. But I'd like to explore the area further.

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  5. Eli--I think I was riding through the less-trafficked areas. If you get a chance, try going up on the ridge--on Glenville Street and Glenville Road (where I usually ride) or Lake Avenue.

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