I had an unexpected and lovely 30 mile riding with my riding buddy. She and her husband had just returned from a 2 week cycling/relaxing trip to Quebec the day before. We had planned to drive up to Newburyport and hike on Plum Island, but she didn't want to be in the car again, after driving home from Canada. But, I had gone out and run at 6 AM, and I had already showered, changed, etc. None the less, she came here and we headed out to just do our local ride around Concord and Carlisle. Since she is a slower rider, i could get behind her and force myself to take it easy or go ahead for a bit.
It was my first really hot and humid ride of the year and I was glad for the chance to do it slowly. I don't know how I lived in Florida and Arizona for 23 years, since I really don't like hot weather. Well, i guess I wasn't out there riding.
We saw a teen group who was loaded down with touring gear stop at Great Brook Farm for ice cream. It reminded me that this was how my son got into cycling. So, after stopping for awhile to chat and eat a snack, I decided to show my friend an alternative route back. Except that the street I needed to take to get back to where I wanted to be was closed! We stayed on the street we were on, which eventually took us out to Rt. 27, and headed west. The road wasn't busy and it was nice to see places I don't see often. This stretch of road parallels a new bike path that opened a couple of months ago. It was nice to see a few people using it; it is eventually going to come through Concord, but of course, people are arguing, how those nasty cyclists will ruin their neighborhood. Anyway, we rode back through Carlisle and headed to Concord center for lunch. Along the way, i went ahead and drafted someone for a couple of miles (see the on your left thread) and then we got lunch at the cheese shop and had a picnic on the lawn by the visitor's center. I gave directions to at least 3 tourists...
We headed back to my house and went and sat by the pond for 3 hours. I even ventured into the water, even though I hate water that is less than 75 degrees.
A relaxing day!