Valentine's Day Ride

This ride bittersweet ride started with the bitter news of M's car crash, and ended with sweet single track and lots of laughs. We missed M and Naomi who were recovering from the killer bread truck. Wonder bread is not just nasty to consume; it's dangerous to transport as well. Feel better, M!

Frankie, Robert, Diana, Jessica, and I took off from Falls Bridge and decided to try the Plateau which proved to be a good idea.Robert, fondling my bike. Hands off, Robert!Jessica has returned from distant shores!Dirty Girl ride leaders Diana Hulboy and Frankie Spence.

Most of the trails were dry, with some intermittent mud on the "420" and "Brass Monkey." No trails were harmed in the enjoyment of this ride. An equestrian had been through earlier and the damage left by that four-legged beast, never mind the poop, was outrageous. I'm not trying to pick a fight, but if the number of equestrians equalled the number of cyclists, our world would be a shit-infested nightmare of wrecked trails and slop. I'm just saying.

The weather: perfect. The mood: concerned for M, but lighthearted. The riding: high Barney factor, except for Frankie, who excelled as usual.

After the ride, I stopped by the boy's indoor soccer game at the old Arthur Ashe tennis facility that has been converted to accommodate soccer. We went to the Dunkin Donuts on Ridge Avenue for some health food, and I was hurt to see the way the customers treated the people who worked there. I guess people who feel shit on must shit on others in return, but it is a grisly side of human nature. If you are a third or fourth generation American who went to a shitty school, didn't pay attention or take advantage of what education you had, and resent in a xenophobic, paranoid, bit of insanity the newly arrived immigrants who are working their asses off to make their way here, well...GO FUCK YOURSELVES IF YOU CAN'T BE POLITE. But Anne, you're not being polite right now. In fact, you're belittling the uneducated trolls as much as they belittle the immigrants. You're correct...I'm not. Because I am sick of people who embrace their idiocy and then use it to belittle and denigrate others. What would your pal Jesus do?

OKAY, rant over. Be careful out there, people. The cars are large and their drivers angry.