Always Together

 When some couples ride, one member has trouble keeping up with the other.

Here’s one way to solve that dilemma:

A Cherry Blossom Canopy In The Bronx

The bike lane under the Bruckner Expressway isn’t more than a couple of years old. But I believe I can safely say that I’ve ridden it dozens, if not a hundred or more, times.

While pedaling Tosca, my Mercian Dixie, near the lane’s southern end, I caught a glimpse of this:

On a grimy industrial block of  East 140th Street, some men enjoyed a canopy more beautiful, to my eye, than any offered at the entrances of the most sumptuous Park and Fifth Avenue buildings.

Of course, those men may not have seen it that way: I couldn’t tell whether they live, work or simply hang out on the block. And I didn’t try to take a closer image of them because one of them eyed me suspiciously.  Perhaps it means I’m not really an artist or even journalist after all: My respect for his privacy won out over my desire to “create” or “make a statement.”

Or maybe I am: The inherent beauty of that cherry blossom, and the cloak of light and graceful curves it offered in a space bounded by concrete, asphalt, chicken wire and steel girders, impressed enough on me, however imperfectly I’ve captured it on my iPhone camera.

RAGBRAI Moves North

 The Tour de France has veered into—and even had its prologues—in Italy, ,Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, England, Spain, Germany and Switzerland. The other Grand Tours (Giro d’Italia and Vuelta à Espańa—haven’t visited quite as many countries mainly because they don’t border as many as France does.

The Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) isn’t a race. Also, it isn’t as long:  Each edition of RAGBRAI lasts around a week and covers 400-500’miles (640-800 kilometers). It first crisscrossed the state in 1973, or seven decades after the first Tour. And, unlike the “Big Three” races, it has stayed entirely within the geographical entity in its name.

That will change this year. RAGBRAI LII, which will run from 19 to 26 July, will take a 15 mile (25 km) “detour” into Jackson County, Minnesota on Day 2.

“For over five decades, we have explored every corner of Iowa,” RAGBRAI Ride Director Matt Phippen explained. “We know this will be an incredible ride.”

Neither he nor anyone else involved with the ride gave a specific reason for this new “twist.” Then again, Tour de France organizers never have to explain why they begin a stage, or the race itself, in another country.