Your Excuse is Invalid

In Monday's post, I mentioned that I probably would not get to ride this week. But Tuesday was May 1, the start of Bike Month. So, in spite of a torqued back and blustery rainy weather, I got out.

I mean, if Ray LaHood can do it, why not me?

If you followed that link, by the way, you probably saw Ray. He's a Republican from Illinois who served seven terms in the House of Representatives, and he's one of my heroes. I plan to vote for him again this November, as should any cyclist -- Republican or Democrat -- who wants better streets for us and our kids.

Of course, it won't be easy to vote for Ray, since he's not running. You see, he's the Secretary of Transportation, a member of President Obama's cabinet. That's one of the reasons that I say that Republicans or Democrats can vote for him, since he's a Republican in a Democrat president's administration. By re-electing President Obama, we will also get Ray for another four years, and he will continue to work towards transportation methods that don't just center around cars.

Anyway, that wasn't the point that I wanted to make here. If you want to know more about Ray, just go to his wiki page. I just wanted to say that if Ray LaHood -- a 67-year-old guy who lives and works up north where it's colder than here and is very busy trying to make it possible for me to continue to ride a bike -- can get out for a bike ride on the first day of Bike Month ... well, my excuses become invalid.

Since I was still achy in various locations, I opted to just bike up to Trader Joe's for groceries. That's just over eight miles from here if you stick to bike-friendly roads -- and that would be far enough for me to buy a small goody to eat as a post-ride reward.

It's all about the food.

As I rolled onto the road, I decided to go south first and stop at Office Depot. I wanted to see if they carried desks, since I need a new one. They did, and I got a spec sheet before turning back north to Trader Joe's. Unfortunately, during that 10 minutes in the store, rain clouds had come in, and before I had gone north two miles it began raining.

On the plus side, I was literally a stone's throw from Fresh Market, which also had what I needed. I was parked and locked up before the rain really began.

Gotta say that I dig the saddle of the next bike over in the rack. Yowza!

By the time I finished my shopping, the rain was almost over.

It was tempting to go ahead up to Trader Joe's, but I now had milk and stuff that needed to be out of the heat. By the time I got home, the sky was clear again.

So, that was my five-mile ride. It turned out to be the only ride of the week.

I promise to have more and better pictures, and a lot more rides for the next ride that I write up. Until then, you and Ray will just have to make do with five quality miles.