Another Day in Paradise:

A couple of short rides await today. In between I’ll be doing tourist stuff.

I’ve been going out on the beach around 04:00 and walking, watching end of night, and the slow rise of the Autumn dawn over the Atlantic. This is good for the soul. Of course, “dawn” might be too strong a word for it. The past few mornings we’ve been having a good old fashioned Nor’Easter. It’s been blowing hard, and raining. This has made the surf magically wild, and the riding somewhat challenging.

Yesterday I had one of those conversations with a bystander at a store.

“How far are you riding?” he asked.

“Short ride today,” I replied. “Only about 30 miles.

“You riding on the roads?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “This is a road bike. It’s no good in the sand and dunes.”

“Aren’t you afraid out there?” he asked. “I’d be worried. Folks drive crazy.”

“I think I’m safer than in a car on a cell phone,” I said. “Besides, you’re a good driver, aren’t you? You’d be careful not to hit me. Right?”

“Oh sure,” he said. “But you be careful. There’s a lot of bad drivers around.”

Then this total stranger made a point of telling me about how a local rider was killed only last year. I refrained from asking him how many local motorists have perished in the same period.

Why is it that non-cyclists think we are in such peril? If armor would save you, no one would ever be hurt in a Suburban. The fact is, here in the off-season, there is not much traffic, and I’ve been treated quite well. Most folks actually wave and smile.