Like everyone else in northeastern US, I've been complaining about The Winter That Won't Go Away. It hasn't been the snowiest or coldest season, but it's been so gray and dreary, and the snow and ice cover were all but constant from the beginning of the new year until a couple of weeks ago.
Mind you, I don't mind cold or snow. I like changing seasons. I don't want endless winter more than I want any other endless season.
So guess where I am now? You guessed it: in a place that has a couple fewer seasons than New York.
Yes, I'm in Florida again, having come just as the weather was starting to warm up (or, at least,turn more springlike) at home.
I'm glad to see Mom and Dad again. And today I got on the old beach cruiser they keep here for me and kept on pedaling, into the wind, up Route A1A. I could feel some of the dust flying off and the cobwebs breaking away from my muscles. And the sun grew warmer--and, I would discover, more intense on my skin.
The result? I pedaled 51 km (31.5 miles), encountering almost no traffic and, before my destination for the day, my only obstacle--lions .
I had to get past them to enter the historic downtown area of St. Augustine. Surprisingly, those lions don't chase cyclists. At least, they didn't chase me. Maybe they know I love cats.
And they stood aside as I crossed their bridge to leave the city and pedal another 51 km back to Mom and Dad's house. The 102 km I covered today made it my longest ride of the year, so far.
After fighting the wind on the way up, my feet were practically pedaling automatically on the way back. That, in spite of tiring about halfway back.
I realized why: I felt that glow I feel on my skin whenever I've just gotten more sun than I've had in weeks and months. Not only did I spend a few hours in uninterrupted sunlight (except for a couple of brief incursions into St. Augustine landmarks and shops), I was wearing far less--shorts and a tank top--than I've worn in months. And, as this ride reminded me, the sun is a good deal more intense here than it is in New York.
But I feel my body, my spirit opened again. That, and something I wrote on the plane on the way down, help me to feel as if I am returning to normal in the good ways. I'm ready to say "I'm back", though perhaps without the Austrian accent.
Mind you, I don't mind cold or snow. I like changing seasons. I don't want endless winter more than I want any other endless season.
So guess where I am now? You guessed it: in a place that has a couple fewer seasons than New York.
Yes, I'm in Florida again, having come just as the weather was starting to warm up (or, at least,turn more springlike) at home.
 |
| Bicycle tubes at the Trailhead Beach 'n' Bike Gallery, Palm Coast, FL |
I'm glad to see Mom and Dad again. And today I got on the old beach cruiser they keep here for me and kept on pedaling, into the wind, up Route A1A. I could feel some of the dust flying off and the cobwebs breaking away from my muscles. And the sun grew warmer--and, I would discover, more intense on my skin.
The result? I pedaled 51 km (31.5 miles), encountering almost no traffic and, before my destination for the day, my only obstacle--lions .
I had to get past them to enter the historic downtown area of St. Augustine. Surprisingly, those lions don't chase cyclists. At least, they didn't chase me. Maybe they know I love cats.
And they stood aside as I crossed their bridge to leave the city and pedal another 51 km back to Mom and Dad's house. The 102 km I covered today made it my longest ride of the year, so far.
After fighting the wind on the way up, my feet were practically pedaling automatically on the way back. That, in spite of tiring about halfway back.
 |
| In June 1964, Andrew Young, then one of Martin Luther King Jr's senior field organizers, led a march through the old part of St. Augustine. He and the other marchers were beaten as they tried to cross to Plaza de la Constitution. One month later, the Civil Rights Act was passed. |
I realized why: I felt that glow I feel on my skin whenever I've just gotten more sun than I've had in weeks and months. Not only did I spend a few hours in uninterrupted sunlight (except for a couple of brief incursions into St. Augustine landmarks and shops), I was wearing far less--shorts and a tank top--than I've worn in months. And, as this ride reminded me, the sun is a good deal more intense here than it is in New York.
But I feel my body, my spirit opened again. That, and something I wrote on the plane on the way down, help me to feel as if I am returning to normal in the good ways. I'm ready to say "I'm back", though perhaps without the Austrian accent.
