June 14th rides

[OnTerryOh]

After Carolbiker and I rode 20 miles and stopped at Starbucks for a decaf coffee (Carol) and a venti caramel frappachino, extra caramel (me), we returned to our bikes and I saw my back wheel was flat. Not having a spare tube with me, I went back into Starbucks and asked a woman in line if she knew where the closest bike shop was.

It turns out this woman, Jean was her name, was an angel. She insisted on driving me the three or four miles to the bike store, which was closing in about 20 minutes. Carol followed on her bike and met us at the shop.

Jean even gave me her phone to call Carol with directions to the shop. She said she had a daughter who was a senior in college and into racing bikes. She said her daughter was doing a race called Snake something, I think in Iowa -- not sure .

At any rate, I gather that she was not only simply a very nice person, but also that by helping me she was doing what she hoped someone else would do for her daughter on the road. She gave me a quick hug goodbye.

Life and the strangers you meet on bicycling adventures can be so wonderful at times.

While I was waiting for Carlos, the mechanic who fixed my flat, I spoke with an elderly couple about the Raleigh mixte they had with them. The man had never heard the term mixte and was interested that his old bike was rather special. I told him to Google mixte.

Earlier on the same ride, we met an 80-something gentleman riding an unknown cruiser bike built, I'm guessing, circa 1950. Here are some pix.

Check out the dual action kickstand and the plastic cover (could it be bakelite?) on the crank. The sticker on the rusty back fender is for a bike safety club headed by Richard B. Ogilvie, governor of Illinois from 1969 to 1973.









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And on the same ride, before hitting Starbucks, we met Debbie at her yard sale selling bikes. Ever hear of a Kalkhoff bicycle?

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All in all, we rode about 31 miles today -- can't say for sure because when Carlos put my front wheel back on, he put the magnet side away from my odometer's sensor. No problem -- I'll simply take the wheel off and turn it around to align the magnet again.

It was a gorgeous sunny day, crisp temperature in the low 60's, fish scale clouds painting the sky, not too many people on the bike path, the wind lightly billowing through my shirt, parts of this song going through my mind all day --
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