Posts tagged ‘Mason’
#330daysofbiking Day 103: with the boys
zoom .......... (Mason)
Clouds and rumbles of thunder today. Watched the brutal climbing of todays stage of the Tour, which was enough to make my legs ache just sitting there. Other lazy Sunday stuff … but got out for a nice road ride in the afternoon with Mark and Mason.
Mark heads out of town again, and both Mason and Dillon are scheduled to work a lot this week, so it will be more solo riding for me. At least I can keep up with myself.
It will probably be a lot of landscap-y things in the next few days, so thought I’d get some real biking pics in from today’s ride …
going for "fast" - a guy thing (no offense, fast girls... 😉 )
a little less fast
'bye!
#330daysofbiking Day 54: eight hours in a car
traffic ... circles
I hope there is no one checking the official rule-book, because I’m not entirely sure today’s ride would even count as being valid. I rode Mason’s bike. Around a parking lot, to his dorm. Period. So sue me. I did, in fact, ride a bike today.
Spent the day driving to and from Clarksville, in the rain, in Memorial Day weekend traffic – taking Mason back to APSU for his 5-week summer job mentoring at Governor’s School. Maybe it was just the long day in the car, or the traffic … or just the fact that I will be missing our summer rides together for the next few weeks. But I am feeling a bit cantankerous at the moment. I am , of course, so happy that he has this great opportunity, and am sure that after a good night’s sleep I will feel more normal (whatever that is?).
But until he returns in July, I shall be missing his eagerness to be out riding – even when I drag him with me through the rain and in the dark. Even when I know I am holding him back, yet he is kind enough to let me decide the pace. I will miss his silly comments, his teasing, the way he shakes his head and always laughs at my crazy ideas. His patience when I make him stop so that I can take photos. So Mason, if you should read this … I hope you know. Miss you, babe – have fun!
Mason's summer room-mate ... back in the dorm (APSU)
tempest
#330daysofbiking Day 48: goofus world :-P
always an attitude ...
Apparently it is some law of nature: enter the goat pen with a camera, and there is never a shortage of goofus goat world. Never. Tonight was no exception. Always the comedians, they are. (If you don’t believe me, more on my Flickr … )
I don't know what this was about - she kept swinging her head around. Goats - who can possibly know?
Rainy morning. Spent the better part of the day working around home. The really fun stuff – like laundry, cleaning, some work outside. And yes, in the goat barn. Tomorrow the boys are having a big end-of-school bash here … same as last year, after Mason & Ross’s graduation, many of the same kids. The Band will play, volleyball, food, good times – and hopefully I will not get thrown in the pool this year. I’ll be keeping my eye on you, Justin.
Mason and I got out late, but did take a nice evening ride. It was cool, but clear. Cacophony of crickets, frogs, all the sounds of dusk. Baseball game in the nearby field. The quiet whrrrr of our bicycles. Blinkies. The fragrance of honeysuckle, that I can’t get enough of. Lens Baby.
And yes, the background nyaaaaaa of a couple of goats.
the sounds of crickets...
not as goofy as goats
#330daysofbiking Day 45: Twinkie Cats
dessert?
SNL has Laser Cats … and apparently Farmer Beatty has Twinkie Cats. After a long day of mousing in the barn, nothing like a nice dessert of sugary “goodness”. 😉 Yes, those really are Twinkies. And yes, the cats were loving every bite.
Riding with Mason today, we passed this big old barn on our way home. I’ve noticed the population of barn cats here before, but they typically run and hide if I make any move to slow down near them when passing by. Today, a bunch of them were all sitting inside the barn (which is right on the edge of the road), and I could tell that they were busy eating – and they didn’t seem to attempt their usual get-away when I passed. We turned around and stopped to take a look. The owner, Mr. Beatty, was nearby and we stopped to talk. I’m not sure what possesses him to offer the cats Twinkies, but he’s a sweet old guy and just seems to regard all of the cats as useful animals to have in living in his barn. No names, didn’t know where half of them arrived from, but apparently pretty good mousers. The cats seemed to be genuinely enjoying their “treat” … Mason and I just found it rather entertaining (and unbelievable that a cat would want to eat the stuff).
Farmer Beatty and his Twinkie Cats
We had a nice early evening ride. Long shadows, cows, cats, honeysuckle, thistles in bloom – and no rain. I’m becoming a fan of the early evening riding – such nice temperatures, little wind, sounds of crickets, really beautiful light. Very peaceful.
As I’m sitting here writing, my own cat is climbing around my desk. Wondering if she is craving a Twinkie? 😉
Mason ... riding with his shadow
#330daysofbiking Day 44: dumb and dumber
saw it coming...
Perhaps the smartest thing I did today was leave the DSLR at home. (Today’s photos brought to you by Mason’s pocket camera – which, quite miraculously, I managed not to ruin).
So the sun was popping out, along with patches of blue sky, and we figured the rain had finally moved out. Mason and I decided we were overdue for a nice long road ride. I cannot tell you why, but something in me decided to leave the “good” camera behind today – and since my little Lumix had a dead battery, Mason offered up his to take along.
taking cover; Mason always manages to keep a smile on his face, regardless of what I drag him through
Around 8 miles out, the rain started. And unfortunately started really coming down on a more heavily travelled stretch of road, where we encountered some yahoo who decided to pass a truck in the oncoming lane just as we approached – which could have been disastrous had we not had some ample clean shoulder space to move on to. We made it to a small commercial building that was empty and up for sale, so we stashed the bikes and took shelter on the front porch. We thought we could wait out the worst of the heavy rain – a plan that worked just fine until some really strong winds started blowing the driving rain onto the porch. We ended up pretty soaked, thinking how stupid we were not to bring any rain gear, or even a plastic bag to stash phone and camera. Dumb. Murphy’s Law of cycling, I guess … but we should have known better.
The rain finally let up and we decided to head back out, debating whether to continue our loop, or just head back home. Made the decision to stay out. And about 5 miles further down the road, got caught in a downburst again! This time we were close to a big Baptist church, and found cover under one of their equipment sheds. Had it not been for having stupid electronic devices with us, I think we would have just continued on in the rain. Time to stick a few ziplock bags in my seat bag. (You would think I would have learned this by now. Duh).
Finally it let up again. And the sun came out. And the rest of the ride was spent drying off in the warm sun. Totally worth it! I wish I could bottle the air on a day like this – damp grassy fields, the incredible perfume of honeysuckle in bloom. This was the reward part. 🙂
I don't know why I did this in black and white ... I just felt like something different 😛
shebicycles 