I woke up a lot earlier today than I'd reckoned on doing, and after making blueberry muffins, just because, and downing my fair share of the coffee, I had a lot of morning to kill between then and meeting up with Rob, Joel, Chris, and Maureen for the afternoon, so I figured I'd take my road bike and camera out, and cruise the East and West Bottoms and take some pictures.
I'd been planning to ride my road bike this weekend anyhow, because today marks exactly one year of owning said vehicle, and while it isn't the most-ridden of my bikes, it is a lot of fun ot ride, in its own high-strung fashion. For one thing, after riding the portly old Schwinn, or my rather boat-anchor-ish mountain bike, it feels like utter effortlessness to make it go. Then, there's the rather pretty sound that well-inflated skinny roadbike tires make on the asphalt. They sing at the right speed, a gratifying sound if ever one there was.
Quite frankly, my road bike is way the hell too nice of a bike for me…I don't have any business owning or riding such a fancy-pants machine, but own and ride it I do, and with much gusto. Properly, it should belong to a hardcore roadie, with lovely lycra kit which accentuates the paintjob of the bike, and clicky elf-shoes that pop onto the pedals with a satisfying “snap” This bike should probably have a cyclocomputer wired up to it, and its rider should try to best herself on the weekly or bi-weekly loop, occasional time-trials, and organized races. It should never have been bought by an utter smartass who would wire a little-kid's basket to the handlebars and who will sprint, low in the drops, through a parking lot, then clamp down the brakes and see how long of a stripe she can leave.
These two photos, taken a little under a year apart, tell the story of what happens when a giddy smartass saves up her hard-earned ducats, then buys a bike that's a lot more serious than she is. She drags it down to her level.
You'll note that I have a little “prrring-prrring” bell. I used it with extreme glee when I finished my little loop at Corporate Challenge. I think I took like 5th for my age bracket…
So, anyhow, I went out riding this morning. I'd originally thought I'd do a pretty short ride, maybe stay out about an hour, but it ended up being something like two-and-a-half. It was just so nice out, and I had my camera, so the world looked tantalyzingly photographable. I tend to go around town, thinking, “wow, that would make a great picture,” and when I went out today, there were two specific photos I knew I needed to take, if the opportunity was still there:
Click the thumbnail for the full image.
This is one of the two that I was seriously hoping and intending to take today. I saw these backhoes weeks and weeks ago on a Saturday ride and thought “wow, that could make a pretty neat photo,” what with the colors and kind of dramatic lines of them. And so I did what I could with the angles I could get at them today. I need to go in the afternoon rather than morning, I think. I was having a hell of a time getting co-operation with the blazing midday sunlight.
This was the other one I truly needed if only because I have a collection of signs that I found amusing. And I have a perennial sophomoric sense of humor. And what better slogan and attitude could there be than “humpin' to please?” I mean, really!
And, if you are REALLY bored, here's the entire album: 7-2-06 temporary photo dump. I'll probably eliminate some of the crummier images when I can be arsed. In the meantime, I'm going to bed, since I have to work tomorrow.