Things you see on a bike ride
From Thursday, June 6th, 2002 ride on the
normal King's Mtn/Skyline/84 loop
So what do you notice on
the 1,483rd time riding the same loop, twice a week for the past 25+
years? Wouldn't everything be getting a bit stale & old by
now?
Well, to start off, 3-dog-lady, the
formerly anti-cyclist elderly woman whom we'd seen for many years
and would always look at us as if we didn't belong... the one that,
after maybe three years of us saying hello to her finally has broken
down and almost appears to look forward to seeing us... well, she's
got 4 dogs now. And she actually says hi as we ride past her
on Albion Road.
And then there's Mrs. Iverson, mother of Thom, a
friend of mine from the way-back days who used to work with me in a
couple of bike shops. Thom and his wife & two daughters have
lived in Seattle for over twenty years, but I still see him mom out
there on many mornings, walking/jogging down King's Mtn. She
was out there today.
And that dog on Skyline, just south
of King's Mountain? You know, the one that races along the
edge of a cliff, with no fence, barking at you as you ride past?
The one that must have an incredible sense of where the end of the
world is? He was out there this morning, as you can see in
this photo. ( Had to highlight him in a circle so you can spot him.)
The Skegg's Point parking lot was
nearly full as we rode past, as many mountain bikers were preparing
to depart for a ride through El Corte Madera Open Space, one of the
nicest local spots for mountain biking. As I passed the park
entrance, I noticed something different. The rangers aren't
fooling around on foot or even bikes anymore; that's a mean little
off-road 4-wheeler he's getting ready to go!
Just a bit further on I was paced by a deer running
alongside the road. Funny how deer, when frightened, have a
habit of running right next to you instead of heading away.
This was my first recumbent sighting
in the hills above Woodside! Took some time to dig the camera
out of my jersey pocket, since I'd put it into a plastic bag to keep
it protected from moisture. Fortunately, the recumbent was
going too fast down the hill, so it wasn't all that tough to get a
picture while riding.
What would a morning in Woodside be
without joggers & runners, mostly women, along King's Mtn, Manuella,
Albion & Olive Hill? Like clockwork, you see some of them at
the same time, in the same place, each time you're out there.
On Olive Hill, shortly before turning
onto Canada Road for the final run back home, I noticed a woman
holding her young child out near the street so he could watch the
garbage truck making its rounds. Funny thing, though... as I
rode past, the kid was definitely fixated on me, not the garbage
men, and he was even pointing at me as I went past, his fingers
tracing my path.
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