A friend of mine bought a bike a couple weeks ago. I've been pestering him for ages to go for a ride with me. I even offered to go to church with him if he'd go for a bike ride. He called yesterday, "So when are we going for hat bike ride?" I said "How about this evening?"

So I met him on the trail. This is funny--he thinks I'm absolutely nuts for riding on the road and dismisses anything I say about sidewalks being dangerous. At least, that's what he says. Actually I think he's mostly joking, especially after he told me about someone else griping about those bikes on the road, and how he corrected her using my arguments.

His longest ride ever was 12 miles a couple days ago, and his new bike has maybe 15 miles on it. I didn't think this would be a long ride. But we went clear to McBaine (near where the trail intersects the main Katy trail) and then I said "Have you ever been to Eagle Bluff Lookout?" which is only 1 or 2 miles further. Actually it's 3 miles further, as we discovered.

We climbed up the 169 steps to Eagle Bluff Lookout and saw a beautiful sunset. I was a little nervous because I realized it was going to be dark before we made it back to town.

Sure enough, as we got into town, the trail gets really dark because it is completely shrouded in trees. I took my light off my bike a while ago because it interferes with the fender, and I just don't use it much in the summer. Ok, I'm getting a handlebar bracket for that thing!! I felt about as dumb as anything, having this beautiful generator hub, and my light at home!

He went 20 miles. Besides it getting dark, I wish we'd cut the ride a little shorter, I worry that if a new cyclist is hurting too much the next day he won't want to ride again. On the other hand, that sunset was probably worth it.

I didn't want to bike home on the streets with no lights. It's one thing if I fall off the side of the trail, but quite another if a car can't see me because I only have two little reallight blinkies. And he had gotten a new bike rack to cart around that new bike anyway. So he gave me a ride home.

His car is not even a year old. He's already been sideswiped once. What do you know but on the way home--through town--he hit a deer. He swerved and nearly missed it but we could hear the THUNK plainly. Here's the crazy part. There was not a mark on his car! No scratch or dent, nothing. No sign of the deer back there either.

Lesson for me is, get the handlebar mount for my light, and as always, ride the bike instead of the car, I nearly always regret putting my bike on a bike rack if there is another option!