Without Mike Or The Green Light

Now that the latest Gatsby movie is in theatres, I thought a North Shore ride was appropriate.  (I'm still not sure of whether I want to see the movie.)  Anyway, here's one of the novel's most iconic scenes, minus the green light.

Then, on my way back, I stopped for a "snack":

Of course that sign for "Mallow Marsh" was placed during the reign of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.  Can you imagine Mike Bloomberg allowing such a thing?

The Burn

As I mentioned, on Saturday I rode to Connecticut.  It is my second-longest ride (75 miles or 120 km) this year; only the Memorial Day ride I took to and from Somerville (101 miles or 163 km) was longer.

However, I felt more tired at the end of Saturday's ride, in spite of the fact that I spent some time in the saddle between those two rides.  There are several possible explanations.  

One is that Saturday as a warmer day.(86F or 30 C in Greenwich vs. 72 F or 22C in Somerville). Another is that on the Somerville ride, I did almost all of my climbing on the way out,whereas I had to contend with a couple of upslopes (albeit smaller) on my way home from Connecticut.

But I think the most important factor was the sun.  Both days were nearly cloudless, but I think that in the two weeks between the two rides, the sun's rays had grown more intense.  I used even more sunscreen the other day, but I still burned:

Well, at least I didn't have any interviews today:

I will be more careful about my jewelry selection on my next ride:

From the Unofficial Ride To Biking In Boulder

All right. So that last picture isn't mine. But you get the idea.

At least I didn't get the "waffle burn" on the backs of my hands, even though I was wearing my crochet-backed gloves!

In all, though, I can't say it's any worse than getting "road rash",although the latter can give you bragging rights in some circles.

Finnegan's Ride

Way back in the snows of antiquity, I read James Joyce's Dubliners, Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.  Call me a philistine, but I haven't touched any of them since.  Not that I wouldn't; I just don't feel the urge to do so.  

Plus, I really think Ulysses--all 800 or so pages--has to be read in one sitting.  I am reminded of that after tuning into WBAI, the local Pacifica radio station, for its annual Bloomsday reading of the book.

Ulysses is a stream of consciousness (or a collection of the world's longest run-on sentences) that describes a single day--16 June 1904.  

One thing I might do some year soon, if I have the money and time, is to go to a Bloomsday bicycle rally in Dublin.  If nothing else, the sight of all of those people, attired in the vetements of the period and riding delivery bikes, riding from pub to pub in through the streets of Dublin.