Warming Up!

I got in an 80 or so mile run last Saturday doing a loop down to Berwick and back. I stopped at a roadside picnic area on Route 11 which I passed many times before but never visited. It was empty, except for me, and I liked the solitude as I do when I'm actually rolling alone on two wheels with nobody but my own thoughts to keep me company. It was peaceful there. Quiet, and almost other-worldly. The sun was bright and warm. It was the kind of day you wish you could bottle up for when the worst of what winter whips you with needs to be tamed even if only in wishful thinking and memories of days like this one.

A green shed stood at a distance from the parking area. It was about the size of a portable potty, though obviously permanently fixed in place. The door was open only a few inches and curiosity got the best of me. With some degree of trepidation that I might be opening a portal to a hibernation den of something with claws and teeth I drew at the edge of the door with the tip of my boot. There was an old straw broom inside, a few shelves, and some rotten cardboard boxes. Considering that there's nothing at all there in the middle of nowhere that might need to be swept but for the inside of the little room itself, it seemed odd that the broom was there. After peering inside for just a moment or two I almost felt as if I were violating somebody's private space so I backed away and made my way once more toward the parking area.

The serenity and stark beauty of the glen needed to be shared and I paused by a pavilion to call a dear friend. When I'm on the scooter I always wear the the earpiece that tethers me to my cell phone and I've grown so accustomed to talking without having to hold the phone that it's second nature for me to do so even though to others it often appears that I'm one of those old eccentric guys who never shaves and talks to himself. There was nobody here, though, to give me queer looks and I talked merrily away, sharing the details of the gorgeous day with somebody whom I knew would appreciate it just as much as I did.

Toward what I knew would be my outer limit that day I stopped at the nuclear power station's watershed area along the Susquehanna River more or less just to get this photo of myself posed with the twin cooling towers in the background.

So far the weather's looking promising for this weekend as well and while I don't have a destination in mind I am anticipating a long ride to somewhere. I am getting a bit weary of riding the same roads up and down the length of the valley. Perhaps it's time to do some serious work on rigging up a sufficiently sturdy mount for the GPS on the scooter so I can go out and get lost but with an electronic trail of bread crumbs to lead me back to where I started. Then again, isn't that where most rides end? I suppose it's a good thing that they do, especially when there's a hot bowl of soup and an extra crusty hunk of bread to be had there.