I rode my bike into work today. I promised Charlie I would start riding my bike into work every day (and home for lunch) so as to toughen up enough to be able to do some more serious riding during the summer. Last summer, I never really got started. This summer I've promised myself to do better. In preparation I took my bike into the bike shop, got it tuned up, and had a rack installed, so I can keep keys and stuff out of my pockets while riding.

Two or three times on the way to and back from the fitness club, Lucy commented on the fact that I was going to ride my bike today. After the third time, I remarked that there was no way I was going to forget or weasel out of it when she kept bringing it up. She apologized and said she was just impressed. She added that she had been really impressed when I had ridden from Kalamazoo to Alma. I made the ride in a single day -- it was a bit more than 100 miles. I had spent the early part of the summer catching lizards in New Mexico and was in great physical shape from hiking up and down the cliffs at the high altitude. The critical moment came in the mid-afternoon when I missed a turn. I was on a busy highway that had veered to the northwest. By the time I realized I had missed my turn, I was off the county map I had brought (I had only brought the counties that I was planning to go through). Rather than going back, I decided to just turn off on the next road that went north and then look for a way to go east to get back on my route. It was nice to get off the busy highway, but soon the road became dirt. With fully loaded panniers and touring tires this was a dangerous situation. I debated a bit on whether to turn back, but again decided to press on. It was a hot day -- temps in the 90s -- with nearly still air. Then I saw dark clouds beginning to build on the western horizon. I began to pedal a little harder. As the wind began to pick up and I started to hear rumbles in the distance, I was getting ready to panic. Just then I came up to an intersection with a paved road with a little country store not more than quarter mile away. I pulled into the store just as the first drops began to fall. I parked my bike under the overhang and went in to buy some soda and fill my water bottles. As I paid, the storm rolled through. First a scattering of hail, then heavy rain and wind. The power went off. I drank my soda and watched the fury of the storm. Within 20 minutes, it was all over. Given a chance to consult my maps, I knew where I was again. When I went back out, the temperature had dropped 30 degrees. I got back on my bike and pushed on with raised spirits and arrived in Alma just as it began to get dark. What a great day!

This is the weekend of the Esperanto@Interreto Seminario. Alisa and the boys are coming with me to have fun at the hotel and museums. I'm hoping to meet with people about the CulturalUnderstandingthroughEsperanto [CUE] project I've been working on. Buzz and I are talking about elaborating a biology module for the program. Some of the people coming to the seminar have expressed some interest in the CUE project -- minimally I'm hoping we can find ways to share resources.


StevenBrewer