The Delta Function In An Autumn Bike Ride

I've been reading a novel called The Delta Function by Spanish writer Rosa Montero.

I'm mentioning it, not because I'm going to critique it (In case you want to know, I like it a lot so far.) or even because it's terribly relevant to cycling.  Rather, I'm bringing it up because of the title.

As I understand, The Delta Function is an attempt to measure phenomena that take place in almost no time (i.e., nanoseconds) but are of nearly infinite intensity.  From what I can see, it would be very useful to astro- or nuclear physicists.  But it's an interesting idea in its own right, I believe.

Anyway, it occurred to me today, as I was riding, that my rides often consist of "Delta Function" moments and events.  It may be because my senses are more open, and I'm generally more alert when I'm on my bike.

As an example, today, in passing a postage stamp-sized park on Rockaway Boulevard, I had, for a fleeting moment, the full sight of colors and sensation of leaves rustling that I experienced during early-autumn rides in  the Delaware Valley,Vermont, the Finger Lakes region, and the Vosges in France.  All it took was a few feet of pathway lined with fallen yellow leaves:

Of course, Rockaway Boulevard is a long way from any of the places I mentioned in my previous paragraph.  And today's ride was really incidental in my running of errands and fulfilling other obligations.  However, that sight, that moment transformed them, if only temporarily.

And, on the way home,  I saw something else that, for no particular reason, gave me a momentary rapture:

I know it was just a bush next to somebody's house.  But it heightened my awareness of the light and color of this season, if only for a moment.

Pancake Rides

This is the time of year for the "pancake ride."


You've probably been on one:  You ride to someplace where pancakes (and foods that go with them) are served.  And then you spend the rest of your ride burning off what you just ate.


In two of the clubs in which I rode, Pancake rides were hugely popular and, certainly, the winter rides that had the biggest turnouts.


The club to which I belonged when I was in college (Rutgers) held those rides every other Sunday in January and February, if I recall correctly.  The rides took us from the urban confines of New Brunswick, New Jersey into the rural areas of western New Jersey.  Actually, many of the club's rides did, but the Pancake ride had a particular destination:  a firehouse that served pancake breakfasts during the winter. I think the proceeds were used to fund the volunteer fire department located in the firehouse, and that everyone who cooked, served, seated people and did all of the other work were family members or friends of the firefighters.


One of the greatest draws of that ride, apart from the complete lack of traffic outside of New Brunswick on a winter Sunday morning and the bucolic countryside, was what we called The Bottomless Plate.  Yes, it was an all-you-can-eat affair.  In addition to the pancakes, the house served hash browns, sausage, bacon and scrambled eggs, as well as coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  It may not have been the best-quality stuff, but when you're cold and hungry, just about anything edible is delicious and hearty.  


As I recall, that firehouse was very welcoming to us.  That's particularly surprising given how much we ate:  Those of you who are better than I am in math can calculate how much Bis-Quick it took to feed thirty to forty cyclists who'd just cycled twenty  or so miles in twenty-degree weather with a wind-chill of about five or ten degrees.  Also, I should add that some of us were young (i.e., college age) males, who typically had bottomless stomachs and empty wallets.


These days, of course, I'm not a young male.  But all of my changes don't seem to have filled in the bottomless pit in my stomach!  


Anyway, I decided, just for the heck of it, to type "pancake rides" into a Google search box.  It seems that they're going on everywhere, and they're not confined to winter.  Still, I'll probably always think of them as winter rides.   I mean, how many other foods feel warmer and cozier after a ride on a cold day?