The intersection of my two favorite modes of transport.

Even after all these years, every little grocery run or errand that involves a bike and a friend still feels like being on vacation. Who needs exotic travel when you can toodle around town with your sweetheart on a beautiful summer evening? :-)

Take your eyes off that bike for a minute and look closely at the golden grass in the background. Notice how it’s all leaning to the left? That’s what meteorologists call “onshore flow”. In other words, it’s cool, refreshing wind coming from the coast. Normally, we get very little onshore flow in August. As a matter of fact, it’s usually stinkin’ hot this time of year in this part of NorCal. Somehow, even though most of the country has been sweltering, we’ve had the mildest summer in memory. Just this morning, the weatherperson on the local news said we’ll be having lots of onshore flow for the remainder of the week. Those two words, uttered in the central valleys of California in the month of August, always bring a smile to this bike commuter’s face.

Happy Friday All! I hope you had a wonderful commute this morning.

Even though it’s still summer, we’re just starting to get a touch of that gorgeous fall light in the early morning. We’re looking forward to the stunning sunrises and sunsets that are such a treat throughout the fall. Of course, the best seat in the house for Mother Nature’s light shows is always a saddle….

A Pleasant Day, A Pleasant Surprise

What a treat. The normal high for today’s date in our neck of the woods is 95F, but it only reached a mildly pleasant 80F this afternoon. It made for an unexpectedly enjoyable commute home.

When Michael was little, she always wondered why “boys” bikes had the high bar since they were the ones who had something to damage. Makes sense to me. Perhaps it’s time to officially declare the step-through “gender-neutral” or even “man-friendly”.

I was going through my archives and ran across this photo taken on January 4, 2010. It reminded me how much I enjoy riding home in the dark. Summer is fun, but winter sunsets are sublime…

If you’ve never ridden an Amtrak train, this is what a typical platform looks like (click the zoom to see the panoramic image at full size). On a typical morning, the platform is jam packed with people. This pano was taken in the afternoon, just a few minutes after the train left the depot.

When on a railroad platform, always stand behind the yellow line, and hold onto your hat when the train comes in. If you have a lightweight folding bike, don’t ever leave it sitting on the edge of the platform or this might happen (ouch).

I had a hard time getting going this morning, but, as always, once I was on the road it was all good. There’s nothing like bike commuting to get your day headed in the right direction.

“The Golden State” has been the official California State Nickname since 1968. Some sources attribute the name to California’s gold rush, while others associate the name with the golden poppies that blanket the state in the springtime. For us inhabitants of the lower elevations, the name is chiefly signified by the lovely dry grasses of summer that carpet nearly every square inch of ground that isn’t irrigated or paved over. As you can see, the grasses are particularly beautiful when backlit by the early morning sun in the height of summer.

Does a country bike feel like a prisoner in the city? Does it secretly yearn for open roads and soaring vistas? Can it be truly happy, sequestered in the urban jungle?

My son is taking a photography class at the local community college and this evening’s assignment was to concentrate primarily on light, with an emphasis on shadow. Ironically, the evening was somewhat overcast and there were hardly any shadows; we normally like those conditions, but it made the assignment doubly difficult. Fortunately, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and we were able to get a few shots in before it went away for good. It was a fun time, riding the bikes around with our cameras on our backs, looking for interesting vignettes and just enjoying the evening. Riding doesn’t always have to be about saving the planet….

Beautiful morning, generous bike lane, zero traffic; just about perfect.