Ride
Date: April 11 Wed
Mileage: 28 (LHT)+ 1 to bank
April mileage: 50
Year to date: 661
I open with a pic of the hail that fell in the flower bed. Fortunately it wasn't big enough to hurt the cars or the roof. We've had 2 other roofs replaced due to hail in our time in this house.
I was stir crazy all day around the house. We had rain and funk and gunk all Wednesday, and on top of that I messed with the taxes and installed a new printer (from Christmas "emoticon"). The fam went to Wednesday church supper, and after a brief hailstorm (above documentation) I jumped on the LHT for whatever ride it was going to be. More nastiness was in the forecast, but I didn't care. I had to get OUT! The LHT would serve me well with its much-needed fenders and hub generator light, and I took along some gear- wool hat and toe covers- in case it got nasty.
My general route took me across Cherokee and down the Beargrass Creek Path. As I have before, I saw the Blue Heron and commenced the hunt for photo capture. He, being wily and wild, kept one step, er, flight ahead of me, so I never got that one special pic. Here's the best I could do. In case you're not sure what you are looking at, he's the blobbish thing in the top right corner, well, towards that corner. He definitely contrasts with the brown of the trees. I think I'll buy a new camera with a better telephoto and faster shutter, but that's another story.
I hopped over to the Butchertown path with exited me onto River Road. More nastiness was a-brewing downtown- my direction-, so I knew fates were against me. This pic doesn't quite capture the contrast of the blueishness of the sky on either side of this pic with it's greys, blacks, reds and oranges. You can barely see the rain coming straight down on the city. Foreshadowing.
5 minutes after this pic I was pelted with large rain drops and 40mph winds. I was traveling along at 7-8mph directly into the gale. It was exhilarating! I needed to stop to turn on the back blinkie and to cover the Brooks just to be safe. I think the fenders would do the same job, but better safe than buying a new, expensive saddle. I had the good fortune to stop under the interstate and to have a wall to the west, buffeting me from the gale-force storm. I didn't stay long, only to put on the toe covers and cover the saddle. Here's the latest LHT.
The best image of the day came shortly afterwards, again while I was under the interstate downtown. The storm had quickly blown by and now the sun was peeking out from the clouds. I saw this, stopped in the middle of the street, went backwards on the street and took this, all with a security guard looking at me as though I were a 7-foot tall Nigerian ballet dancer wearing a tutu. Don't know if the pic captures it, but the water was streaming down from the deluge on the interstate with the western sun playing games with the light. I like it.
I extended my route westward on the Riverwalk, knowing I would have to depend on the SON as my light faded. The rains blew through, leaving a fabulous evening sky of reds, oranges and blues. I wasn't quite in any one spot to capture a great sunset, but this is an image in Portland- the Louisville original- of the first Catholic church steeple west of the Alleghenies against the evening sky. The gentleman below is actually watching a group of (his) swarthy boys up on the Riverwalk, one with a bat. I'm not really sure what they were up to, but fortunately they were small enough to the be dangerous.
The Riverwalk had seen lots of mud, so I treaded delicately but confidently with the 2"Serfas monsters. Every know and then I hit a large puddle and I felt like a boat with the Serfas acting as an enormous prow. Light faded and I found myself in Shawnee Park, a place 95% of white folks would dare visit. My uncle asked me if I carried a gun while riding on the Riverwalk. Perhaps the danger is there, but I feel generally safer in the West End of Louisville, now overwhelmingly black, than I do in parts of the East End, which has been overrun with Volvos and trophy mom bitches ready to run a cyclist over in a hearbeat.
I returned home in the dead of dark, down streets with people I'm supposed to be very fearful of. No one said a word as I meandered back via River Park St./Chestnut and in to downtown. I made a quick call home to tell the fam I wasn't dead. De hecho, I had left the front door wide open during the hail storm, so the boys though I was dead. Widespread Panic was playing at the Palace. I saw them once, years ago. Boring show. My legs were a little tired by then after near-30 miles on the LHT. I don't have too many miles in the legs, and the weather and situations added to the challenge.
Satisfying.
Mileage: 28 (LHT)+ 1 to bank
April mileage: 50
Year to date: 661
I open with a pic of the hail that fell in the flower bed. Fortunately it wasn't big enough to hurt the cars or the roof. We've had 2 other roofs replaced due to hail in our time in this house.
I was stir crazy all day around the house. We had rain and funk and gunk all Wednesday, and on top of that I messed with the taxes and installed a new printer (from Christmas "emoticon"). The fam went to Wednesday church supper, and after a brief hailstorm (above documentation) I jumped on the LHT for whatever ride it was going to be. More nastiness was in the forecast, but I didn't care. I had to get OUT! The LHT would serve me well with its much-needed fenders and hub generator light, and I took along some gear- wool hat and toe covers- in case it got nasty.My general route took me across Cherokee and down the Beargrass Creek Path. As I have before, I saw the Blue Heron and commenced the hunt for photo capture. He, being wily and wild, kept one step, er, flight ahead of me, so I never got that one special pic. Here's the best I could do. In case you're not sure what you are looking at, he's the blobbish thing in the top right corner, well, towards that corner. He definitely contrasts with the brown of the trees. I think I'll buy a new camera with a better telephoto and faster shutter, but that's another story.
I hopped over to the Butchertown path with exited me onto River Road. More nastiness was a-brewing downtown- my direction-, so I knew fates were against me. This pic doesn't quite capture the contrast of the blueishness of the sky on either side of this pic with it's greys, blacks, reds and oranges. You can barely see the rain coming straight down on the city. Foreshadowing.
5 minutes after this pic I was pelted with large rain drops and 40mph winds. I was traveling along at 7-8mph directly into the gale. It was exhilarating! I needed to stop to turn on the back blinkie and to cover the Brooks just to be safe. I think the fenders would do the same job, but better safe than buying a new, expensive saddle. I had the good fortune to stop under the interstate and to have a wall to the west, buffeting me from the gale-force storm. I didn't stay long, only to put on the toe covers and cover the saddle. Here's the latest LHT.
The best image of the day came shortly afterwards, again while I was under the interstate downtown. The storm had quickly blown by and now the sun was peeking out from the clouds. I saw this, stopped in the middle of the street, went backwards on the street and took this, all with a security guard looking at me as though I were a 7-foot tall Nigerian ballet dancer wearing a tutu. Don't know if the pic captures it, but the water was streaming down from the deluge on the interstate with the western sun playing games with the light. I like it.
I extended my route westward on the Riverwalk, knowing I would have to depend on the SON as my light faded. The rains blew through, leaving a fabulous evening sky of reds, oranges and blues. I wasn't quite in any one spot to capture a great sunset, but this is an image in Portland- the Louisville original- of the first Catholic church steeple west of the Alleghenies against the evening sky. The gentleman below is actually watching a group of (his) swarthy boys up on the Riverwalk, one with a bat. I'm not really sure what they were up to, but fortunately they were small enough to the be dangerous.
The Riverwalk had seen lots of mud, so I treaded delicately but confidently with the 2"Serfas monsters. Every know and then I hit a large puddle and I felt like a boat with the Serfas acting as an enormous prow. Light faded and I found myself in Shawnee Park, a place 95% of white folks would dare visit. My uncle asked me if I carried a gun while riding on the Riverwalk. Perhaps the danger is there, but I feel generally safer in the West End of Louisville, now overwhelmingly black, than I do in parts of the East End, which has been overrun with Volvos and trophy mom bitches ready to run a cyclist over in a hearbeat.I returned home in the dead of dark, down streets with people I'm supposed to be very fearful of. No one said a word as I meandered back via River Park St./Chestnut and in to downtown. I made a quick call home to tell the fam I wasn't dead. De hecho, I had left the front door wide open during the hail storm, so the boys though I was dead. Widespread Panic was playing at the Palace. I saw them once, years ago. Boring show. My legs were a little tired by then after near-30 miles on the LHT. I don't have too many miles in the legs, and the weather and situations added to the challenge.
Satisfying.
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