Originally Posted by
rholland1951
It was 60degF when I set out for a before-breakfast ride on the Minuteman this morning, cool enough for long sleeves and full-finger gloves, a gray sky with a breeze that seemed always to come from the least-convenient quarter. Stayed down in the drops a lot, both to make time against headwinds and to stay a little warmer.
I'm starting to get a sense of who the Minuteman morning regulars are. Saw the Whippet Lady and the Returnable Bottles guy again: he seems to have fixed his flat.
The sumac is in bloom out near Peepers Pond. My late father-in-law called it a trash tree, and it does grow like a weed, but
our neighborhood Persian restaurant serves its dried, powdered fruit as a table
condiment.
Saw a very small, very young snake crossing the path. Noted that several others of its cohort tried the same thing and didn't make it. Good luck to the little guy.
rod
Bicycle riding is good stuff. In a foul mood on a familiar route, I don't see much, grumble about traffic and grind the miles; sort of a bike tire half full or half empty. In a heads up mood or in the case of these posts, put some air in the tire and Sumac becomes an interesting food spice and glass fragments are a constellation. Thanks Rod!
Circa 1960 Boy Scout teachings differentiated tasty, Moroccan leather dye red berry versions from Poison Sumac but being vague on the details I just avoid it and move on. With your message I recall childhood mixtures for Robinson Crusoe/Treasure Island/Huck Finn tea parties and dyeing homemade things as well as fingers, pants and shirt fronts. Thanks again.
I rode the recumbent 37 miles at a pretty good pace and other than a very, very near miss by a contractor's van (grumble and resolve to add a blinky and maybe spray my head in fluorescent paint) it was a good exercise ride.