Today I woke up at 10am, read one of my books for Anthro 300, and decided to check my email/facebook/cnn.com/fmylife.com/failblog. About an hour later (I always get sucked in when I go online) I found myself putting on my new old navy shorts and shirt and tieing my brown shoes before getting on my bike. I packed a backpack with a jacket and my phone, keys, and ID in it, just in case. I even wore a helmet since I knew I would be crossing Regent St and possibly other busy thuroughfares.
I began my journey by heading south down the bike path. I was surprised to find that no one
else was wearing shorts. What can I say? I'm simply excited about spring. I passed an old man with two beagles that barked at everyone who passed them, including a little boy who subsequently fell off his bike. The man walked with his back bent, offered to help him up, and seemed truly sorry that the boy fell. After slight hesitation and brushing off his pants, the boy was back on his bike and pedaling quickly down the path. I continued on without interruption until I decided to veer off the trail and head down to Lake Wingra, like Steph and I did freshman year. I managed to find my favorite little "village" off of Monroe, just the other side of Edgewood, and delighted in all of the families and people that were milling about. It is fun to see kids having fun and watching them revel in the new opportunities Spring ushers in. I rode down to the same pier that Steph and I stopped to take pictures near, and discovered a hidden foottrail. I took off my helmet, locked up my bike, and started down the path.I cannot begin to describe how beautiful the path was. I walked with my helmet clipped onto the right strap of my corduroy backpack, with it grazing the taller plants that stuck out onto the somewhat muddy path. I should have worn my old tennis shoes instead of my nice suede pair since the mud was black, and a lot like a black hole. Every few feet I would find myself looking for a safe place to step as my previous step slowly caved in. My favorite part of the entire path was when I encountered a small brook with stepping stones connecting the path. From then on, the majority of the path was planks slightly above the ground. I managed to only see one person on the path, which made me consider that walking by myself in the woods was probably not a brilliant idea, even during the day. I turned around after I stumbled across a seemingly dead end and started looking forward to the delicious custard that would be awaiting me back near Wingra Park. I did fear that my bike would not be there when I returned, though it was there, of course. Sometimes I'm a worrywart. I passed many of the same kite-flying kids and the couple sitting on the dock, oblivious to the wind that often comes along with being near a lake, and made my way to the stand. By then, my legs were starting to get chilly, so I opted to eat my Bavarian thin mint ice cream inside, secretly envying the families who thought to wear jeans.
On the ride back, I decided that it might be to my advantage to get my bike inspected before the triathlon in April. Upon doing so, the staff pointed out that the sidewalls on both tires were nearly done for. They were less than 10 miles away from having the tubes burst out. I ended up having both replaced, for $56. I had the bigger tires switched out for smaller ones, which made a huge difference even on the one block ride back to my apartment.
Beth and Caitlyn have not gotten back to me so I have no idea when either one will be here. Oh well. I kind of want to see The Game at the Majestic but I have a feeling that I would end up feeling out of place, and I don't really have $30 to drop on a concert ticket. :(
hey, that picture is from like 3 years ago.
ReplyDeletei don't know if i should admit this, but i will anyways, i forgot you had this blog until i googled your name for fun. Thankfully no pornstar uses "melissa millard" as an alias. But i digress, i found your google profile which led me here. "k bye"