The Smell of Grass and Other Things Olfactory

One of my greatest simple pleasures while out riding is simply smelling fresh, (Not "freshly" - that unfortunate, often misused adverb.) cut grass.

I've mowed the lawn many times since my teens, and the smell of my own cut grass at home didn't particularly thrill me any of those times.  It seems it has to be the scent of somebody else's cut grass that puts a smile on my face.  I wonder why that is?

Food too!  The smell of food cooking - boiling, baking, roasting, stewing, braising, broiling, grilling...  Wow!  How enticing it all smells when I'm riding by another family's fare, even if it's simpler than whatever I had on my own dish earlier. 

I did a lot of bicycle riding as a kid, and I don't remember smells being as wonderful as they are now when I scoot past their sources.  Maybe it's something that comes in middle age, along with a keen sense of appreciation for many things taken for granted during one's prime.

On the Road

I spied this pair which I assumed to be husband and wife on the road yesterday near Altoona, PA. She was on a Majesty. He was on something that I think had the word "wing" somewhere in the name, but I'm not sure of what it read and none of the pictures showed the name clearly.

I like this shot in particular, of the Mr. with the Mrs. in my rear view mirror. Another lucky shot; I was trying to get him going past me, and just happened to get her in the mirror too.

The Mrs...

Their helmets reminded me of the kind of headpiece you might see on a suit of armor. I've seen full face helmets with narrow chin bridges, but never something with such a substantial piece there. I think I'd feel claustrophobic in a hat like that.

They were both riding along at as close to 65 mph as I was myself and seemed to be cruising quite effortlessly. They made it look a lot easier than my own excursions onto the interstate have been. Though I can go 65+ comfortably on single lane roads out in the boondocks, a passing lane and tractor trailers put me right out of my comfort zone.

State of the Union

Are there any amateur demographers out there who'd like to take an educated guess as to why the large white section of the country is conspicuously absent when I check the logs to see from which states the visitors here come?  Except for the strays in the east, there's that big empty chunk in the Midwest.  Maybe if John Deere manufactured scooters?

When I happen to get a pretty picture, it's sheer luck.  I snapped this one last evening when I noticed that the sun was low in the sky.  I could have looked for a better setting without so many telephone poles, but I'm lazy.  The shot came out close enough to how I'd hoped it would.

I'm "sounding" blah here 'cause it's how I'm feeling.  The girls are away now and school starts for me on Monday with our first faculty meeting.  The kids arrive on Tuesday.  By the second week of September I'll be thrilled to be in my element again, but it's always hard to head back after being off for so long and enjoying the freedom that a life of total leisure might offer.

I'm hoping to do the commute on the scooter every day when the weather and its residual effects are suitable.  I think I'll manage the temperatures; it's ice and snow that I fear.  Hopefully they're a long way off, though the doom sayers around here are already suggesting a brutal winter.