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27 September 2011

Bike-commute day 86—to home

Tuesday, 27 September 2011

Though the temperatures were in the cool part of the 60s, I decided not to wear the longsleeve undershirt on the ride home. I was a bit uncomfortable at the start, but I soon built up enough warmth to become comfortable. The paths were lightly travelled, covered with yet more fallen leaves and walnuts. I kept reminding myself to avoid the scattered leaves, since they might cover a walnut. At one point, while passing a couple and their dog, I was forced to the left side of the path, and rode over a large stick on the path. For the next mile, I worried that my tire was getting flat. But though the tire certainly had less air after the encounter, it never flatted.

On this morning's ride, I noticed the renewed smells of each segment of the way, and tonight some of those scents were still enshrouding the bikeway: a skunk's protective spray bolstered the natural area between Airway and Smithville, a small foundry's burnt-carbon funked the plateau between Eastwood Park and Findlay Avenue.

I made it home well before sunset, though the actual horizon was obliterated by a building blue cloud bank that foretold a night of rain.

Ride conditions
Temperature: 62 to 66°F at 18:25
Precipitation: none
Winds: 5 to 10 mph from the south
Clothing: Skinsuit, ankle socks, open-finger gloves
Bike: Lotus Legend fixed gear
Time: 00:41:07 for 12.01 miles
Heart rate: 138 bpm HRave, 154 bpm HRmax
Bikeway users: 8 cyclists, 12 pedestrians, 1 dog
Playback of the ride

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