Power Lunch

Yesterday I rode to lunch with two colleagues from the office.

I was on my 25-year-old "Clunker," and Bob was on a 20-plus year old road bike. He has a stable full of bikes, but he says the old Trek fits him better than any of the others. So of the three riders, two had friction shifters... who woulda thunk?

Our ride took us southeast, mostly along the course of the Boise River, to the Crow Inn. Probably an 8-mile ride from downtown Boise. It was such a lovely day that we sat outside on the patio, where we ate generous portions of bad-for-you-but-so-tasty fried food.

Tom mentioned that he enjoys the change back to Standard Time, because sometimes the commute gets so boring, and the change provides a new view on the scenery. He told of how he'd ridden home in the dark the night before, and happened across a herd of raccoons, with their reflector-eyes.

Perhaps the bike commute gets somewhat routine... but consider the alternative. There are plenty of pathetic schmoes out there whose only hope for relief is if they see an interesting bumper sticker on the car in front of 'em. I'll take the bike ride, thanks.

When we started back, my front tire was low. %#*@% goatheads! I'm woefully unprepared on my clunker... no pump, no patch kit. But the tires hold so much more air, they take hours to leak out. (Bob had a pump, but we didn't get it out.) The day was so lovely, and the scenery and company so good, that even a goathead-induced flat tire couldn't spoil the good cheer I felt.