RAMBLING NEAR HOME

As I have mentioned ad nauseam, I do much of my riding alone – solo if you will. There are days that are challenging for me to go on one of the rides that I do so many times. There are few new photos to add to the exploring of my area, and I have to dig deep for some motivation. Sometimes it comes from an errand that Susan invents for me to do, or one I get to on a list!

It was one of those mornings not long ago. Then, I read an article that Susan had cut out for me that described riding in each of the seasons. Something different is presented with each one. That got me out on that morning and I enjoyed…

…noticing the long shadows created by the bright sun…

…high cloud formations in the deep blue sky…

A vulture or sea creature in this one..

A cowboy doing break dancing —- hat on his head on the right, left hand and foot in his cowboy boot on ground, kicking his right heel, and (Susan said) looks to have dropped his cigar!

Rounding a corner I came to this sobering sight that our police and fire departments put on display. They warn high school seniors and prom goers, every year, about the perils of drinking and driving.

One of my mornings, before leaving for a ride, I spotted this fella out our front window. Sitting pretty as a picture.

Then along the way on one of my neighborhood loops, I keep wondering, how many road repairs does it take to warrant a road to get totally resurfaced?

I did get in a couple of rides with friends this month (June) which is always a plus and gets me to some different views and routes.

Kim and Meri and I rode part of the Sammamish River Trail to Lake Sammamish near Issaquah, and returned for a picnic lunch along the lakeside.

During this month, Susan and I have had a number of outings and events, these close in rides were stitched in between those trips. Kathy was free for a ride that we had done last time we rode together and we enjoyed that reverse route around the Snohomish just as much this time.

It is a very close to home ride that offers a country feel with farm scenes and farm animals. It is the ride I posted with the cute little girl on horseback. We didn’t see her this time.

…canola plants…

Saw some cows…

There are probably two “hills” on this route, and even those are not really hills, but slight climbs for relatively short distances. One of those hills crosses over a bridge that has photo stops that allow you to catch your breath should you need to ;’-)

On the one side is a picturesque barn…

On the other side of the bridge is a lazy looking farm with cows.

And then it was lunch time. The ride is not all that long so we waited until we were quite near our end point before stopping along the river for our lunch.

I had one more ride this month before I sidelined myself. Yep! I have done it again. This time my fall was NOT from my bike, and I did NOT fracture a rib. I tripped over a low rock wall back at Lincoln Rock, and felt ok enough to do this ride with Kathy and the next one solo. But then I had enough pain that Susan insisted that I go be looked at.

I got Mara’s recent decoration of her stump ;’-).

I don’t know the destination for these bikes, but there are a lot of them.

I completed my ride, got home, had pain, went up the road two blocks to urgent care for X-rays. No breaks in the ribs in the high chest (near the collar boneswhere the pain is). But I do have inflammation of the cartilage (costochondritis is the official name) of the ribs which doctor says is more painful and can take longer to heal than a fracture. ;’-(. He said 4-6 weeks of healing time. We shall see about that. Will update as things change ;’-). It will be hard for me, but I will do as well as I can to stay inactive until healed. I don’t want to make it worse or retard the healing.

See you soon…