After the Snow

It's hard to believe that just yesterday morning, I was pushing my way up to work on the ice bike - a $5 bike swap Diamond Back Sorrento that I switched to one speed and added studded snow tires.  The snow was so deep, I had to get off and push the bike up the big hill on the bike path near Siringo.

Since I've spent most of the week either sweeping snow off the roof or sitting in the house watching water drip through next to the book case, I decided I would get out on the Happy Little Three Speed Bicycle and take advantage of the more typical spring weather we're having today.

The photo is from a recently reopened section of the River Trail between Frenchy's Field and Siler Road.  It was opened with great fanfare early last summer, and we were immediately hit with one of those record rainfalls that seem to be becoming regular occurrences what with climate change.  The road in front of our house turned into a river, and the river itself, well, I didn't get down to look at it, but all the willows and cottonwoods that had been planted had been washed away, and the new trail was undercut in a couple of places.  It's been fenced off ever since and was only reopened this month.

I biked down to La Montanita Coop to pick up some food and supplies for our train trip to Chicago, where our son is going to look at Columbia College with an eye to studying film there.  I walked down the strip mall from the coop to have some coffee at Better Day Coffee, and then I continued the loop over to the Rail Trail and the Railyard.  I've been meaning to buy another pair of Blundstones, since the Keen shoes I recently bought have created a callous on the front of my ankle, (is that even the ankle when it is in the front), where the tongue of the shoe rubs, and, in addition to that, they have extremely magical self-untying shoelaces.  I had bought the Keens using a gift card to Amazon that I had acquired through credit card points. I used my own cash to buy the Blundstones at the local shoe store - On Your Feet.  I hope good karma will keep my feet happy in this instance.  I usually only have two pairs of shoes at a time.  My Danner hiking boots, and my other every day shoes.

They just managed to fit in my Rivendell Shopsack.

I then rode the rest of the way home on the Rail Trail.  The River Trail, Rail Trail loop is a nice little ride.  Sometimes the Acequia Trail is the way to go, but I thought the little dirt section may be muddy with all the rain.

Also, I now have my official Society of Three Speeds membership card.  If I were a wee bit more extroverted - OK, if I were extroverted at all, I would have seen if I could set up discounts for Society of Three Speed members at all the places I visited.