This morning, the weather forecasters said it
would be a “perfect” beach day. And it
was: The temperature reached 31C (88F)
and there was scarcely a cloud in the sky.
The latter meant that humidity was low.
So, of course, I decided I didn’t want to ride to
the beach. I figured at least half of
the world would be doing that, which meant that traffic along streets that lead
to Coney Island, Rockaway or Jones Beaches, or just about any along the Jersey
shore, would resemble downtown Manhattan on a business day. I actually don’t mind riding in traffic—most
of the time. Today didn’t fit “most”.
I decided, therefore, to head north—to Westchester
County and Connecticut. That turned out
to be a good decision: the ride was
delightful, even though—or, perhaps, because—I decided to try new routes in
northeastern Bronx and in the part of Westchester County between Rye and the
state line. In each of those areas, I
managed to ride in a complete circle (or square or oval—I’m not sure of which)
that added distance to my ride. That
also wasn’t a bad thing: I didn’t have a
deadline and, because it’s early summer, lots of daylight to work with.
Not that I was worried about getting back before
dark: I could have ridden even more than
I did and made it home in time to light shabbos
candles (not that I would have done such a thing). I also could have spent even more time than I
did at my “turnaround” point. The only
reason I didn’t is that, ironically, I encountered as much traffic as I’d
anticipated in the beach areas as I crossed from the Empire State into the
Nutmeg State.
The reason soon became clear: Greenwich was having street fairs on, it
seemed, all of its commercial thoroughfares.
What that meant is that people drove into the town—in particular, the
strip with designer boutiques—to shop. I
actually had to walk my bike for a couple of blocks, as cycling even the
sidewalks (which is probably illegal), let alone the streets, was all but
impossible. To their credit, many people
actually stepped aside as I approached, even though I was ready to maneuver
around them.
(I guess they still teach good manners in Swiss
boarding schools!)
Anyway, having to walk those couple of blocks
didn’t take any pleasure out of the ride.
I don’t think anything could have, really. The weather was great, I was feeling good and
Arielle, my Mercian Audax, performed flawlessly.
One thing I did notice, though, is that I drank
quite a bit more than I normally do.
Other people with whom I ride have called me a “camel”, as I can pedal a
good while before I reach for my water bottle.
But on today’s ride, I managed to consume two water bottles. In addition, I stopped for an iced tea (at a
service-station vending machine about halfway home) and a small Dunkin’ Donuts
Coolata (mango-passion fruit)in Connecticut.
I think my consumption had to do with the low humidity and constant
sun. Plus, I added cheese—something I
don’t normally consume before or during a ride—to the eggless Eggs Benedict I
made myself for breakfast. It was good
cheese, but I think dairy products of any kind before and during a ride make me
thirsty.
Even my thirst, though, didn’t detract from my
ride. I don’t think anything could have.
(In case you want to know about my eggless Eggs
Benedict: I chopped a garlic clove, a
mushroom, a couple of sundried tomatoes and some kale and sautéed them. Then I put them—and the cheese (Cabot’sVermont Sharp) on top of a Vermont Bread whole wheat English muffin. Yummy, if I do say so myself!)
