When my alarm went off at 6:05 AM this morning I drug myself out of bed in a manner that suggested I’d been out until 4 AM, pounding Jägerbombs with a gaggle of strippers fresh off their shift and looking for free drinks from a desperate, creepy old dude, rather than home, sober and in bed reading at 9 PM with lights out and sound asleep by 9:30. Maybe I’m growing older faster than I think, or maybe my renewed efforts on the bike are making me crave sleep more than usual… Either way, I had made up my mind to ditch riding today before I even had my first cup of coffee. A decision that was confirmed when I walked upstairs to wake B-Man twenty minutes later and my legs felt like I was carrying a fat dwarf on my back.
Once I got B-Man up, his breakfast made, lunch packed and off to school I sucked down my second cup of coffee and decided to have a little “me time” with a quick thirty minute nap before I started my day.
Turns out that second cup of coffee and quick nap was just what I needed, because soon after I poured my third cup of coffee the sun was out and I was mapping out a ride in my head that I could get done before I gripped the balls of the June Cleaver-like things I needed to get done.
I opted to head north again today, but hit some different roads than yesterday and threw in a long stretch of pavement that I usually only utilize on my Standard 41 Mile Road Ride (a ride named so because it’s my standard paved road ride and 41 miles long).
The tiredness that my legs had earlier in the day had thankfully gone away and the winds from the north weren’t too bad. However, I did get distracted a couple of times and stopped to take a few pics of some buildings and grain elevators that I pass and shoot all the time but never take the time to get closer. Today I got a bit closer, although I wish I would have had “written permission.” Oh well, it wasn’t like I was cooking meth or poaching the landowner’s deer. Of course that wouldn’t stop most Michiganderburgh land owners from pointing a loaded shot gun at you and many others from pulling the trigger.
It was fun to briefly get closer to some of these old building and houses. I get so intrigued by old abandoned buildings, barns and homes. I always have; I long to know what went on there and who may have lived, worked, played and possibly even died there. I’ve always sort of been into history (not enough to do well in it at it in school mind you, but I enjoy it). History doesn’t have to be all wars and dead presidents, there’s a lot of history all around us–even out on the dirt roads! Anyway, I’ve been getting in to more and more web sites and Flickr pages dedicated to the exploration and photographing of abandoned rural and urban buildings, homes, businesses, etc. I know it’s a bit nerdy but it’s really interesting! (if you’re a nerd).
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After those couple minor photographic pit-stops, I had to make my way home PDQ. Luckily most of the return trip home would be on pavement and allow me to go a bit faster than on the lumpy gravel and dirt roads.
However I did need to make time for one more dirt road photo-op which I call A Dog & His Blue Balls (seen above). Pretty classic rural Michigan stuff right there.
OK, it’s well after 9, which means it’s past my bead time. In my mind right now I can’t imagine making a ride happen tomorrow. But with tomorrow’s forecast sunny and 73˚ with light winds, I also can’t imagine that I won’t at least try to squeeze in a ride in between my scheduled heavy periods of unworthiness to society. Especially with B-Man having an away soccer game on Saturday afternoon and a home game on Sunday morning, I’ll need to be creative with the ride scheduling if I want to get close to 200 miles this week (currently at 125.6).
Later.