Book Store Ride

November 7, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Woo-Hoo! We're riding again!

We haven't ridden together since the 18th of October. Bad weather. Bad back. More bad weather.

Tim declared himself ready to ride to work earlier in the week. Today, although he is still a bit stiff, we rode for most of the afternoon, about 80 miles. Our loose destination was a book store. The closest Borders Books is a couple of towns over. Sure, there is a Barnes and Noble a few blocks away and a favorite Independent book store a bit further, but it isn't as much fun getting to either of those locations.

I usually make a trip to the book store on my birthday. We had heavy snow and Tim had work that day so we didn't get out to run around. I know, a book store like Amazon is as dangerously close as my fingertips on this keyboard. I say dangerous, because I am a certified bibliomaniac and well-schooled in the intricacies of online commerce. Ha! Still, for someone like me... there's just nothing like roaming the shelves of a book store or cracking the cover on a new book for the very first time.

After spending some of Tim's hard earned money on three proud new additions to my library, we stopped for ice cream sundaes at the DQ. YUM! Then, as sunlight weakened and temps dropped with the waning of the day, we took a leisurely ride home through patches of chill shadows and lukewarm sunlight, down familiar country lanes, across dams and around lakes.

Bikers were on every corner and every road and crowding every road house today... all of us reluctant to give up one mile of clear road or one minute of sunlight to the winter that looms precipitously on our horizons...