The whole “tricky treat” thing is very odd when one is staying in a B&B a long way from home. Sat on the porch drinking an adult beverage, and watching the procession. The kiddies and their parents did not know quite what to make of us.
Friday, after checking in and doing the whole go-out-to-dinner thing, I did a night ride along the coast. It was great. Very little in the way of light pollution, clear sky, incredible moon!
I was up before dawn on Saturday, and out along the beach. It was surprisingly warm and clear. The moon had just set, so the stars were amazingly visible. I was struck by some whistful nostalgia as I saw a bit of Orion peaking over the southern horizon. Orion is a Winter constellation. His return to our skies is something I look for each year. It’s awesome, but it foretells months of cold and challenging riding ahead.
Saturday riding was fun. It was windy, but warm and sunny. I met a small group of local riders along the way. We finished the ride at a tavern. This is a regular occurrence hereabouts. The locals are used to the “pedal fairies” in tight clothes. Tall cold micro-brew and absolutely amazing cheese burgers. Turned out, as the “foreigner,” my money was no good. I said they were good hosts.
You meet the most amazing people “on the road.”
We had some pretty heavy weather Saturday night. The rain backed off on Sunday, but the wind was ferocious, and it was a cloudy day. A good day for indoor pursuits.
Bike Lanes: There are bike lanes here. They also function as pedestrian facilities. So there are conflicts between the walkers and the cyclists. At the same time, motorists are fairly tolerant of cyclists in the beach areas. What gets odd, is that the motorists are really unaccustomed to seeing us on roads away from the beach.
When I rode over to the mainland, I was somewhat battered by passing motorists. They didn’t give much room, and they weren’t terrifically tolerant.
This is one of the problems with bicycle “facilities.” It’s something similar to an effect we find around Peachtree City. There are elements of the motoring public who feel that we cyclists should be content to “stay on the reservation.” After all we have all these paths/bike lanes, so why would we want anything more?
The answer is obvious to me… to get somewhere the paths don’t go.
We are going to have to deal with this in our area. The conflict is between “vehicular cyclists” and “facilities cyclists.” It’s going to be an interesting thing to watch.
My default postion is with John Forester, “Cyclists fair best when they behave, and are treated as the operators of vehicles.”
I hope you are all doing well. Stay on the road, and stay sane.
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