Bike Ride 11, Pretty Flowers

Yesterday I went for my 11th bike ride.  It was a dark, overcast, dreary day, but it was cool, finally.  For the first time I wasn't dripping sweat within seconds of riding, and it was such a lovely change.

I started out with my normal route, along all of the quiet side streets, cutting through paths and fields to get from one neighborhood to the next.  I also discovered that I could use a sattelite map of my route so you can see all of the lovely green areas I got to ride through.  Where the blue line is really thick is where I used the same route there and back (Connaught, Third Ave., Devon, and Fifth Ave.).

My route

The green path that I cut through on my first ride is now a riot of flowers!  When I first started riding, I had to walk this path because I was afraid to ride on dirt/sand, but now I ride through in seconds like it's nothing. It seemed like such a long path before, lol.

 Pretty yellow flowers and wheat-like grass.

 I wasn't sure if I should turn around at this point or not because the grey clouds were really coming in fast, low and heavy, dark and ominous.  The breeze that blew them in was so cool and refreshing I decided to keep going.  It felt so nice to FINALLY not be roasting while on my bike.

 There were flowers everywhere I looked.  I got off my bike and ran through them, breathing them in, secure in the knowledge that my twice daily allergy pills were working.  Thank God, too, as I'm allergic to every tree, flower, and grass known to man, lol.

 I love Queen Anne's Lace. I'm so happy it was the small stuff, and not the big, fake, wicked Queen Anne's Lace double that causes horrible disfigurement if you touch it, lol.

 I don't know what these blue flowers are, but I love them too.  I should google it. Hang on. OK, I'm back (did you miss me, lol?).  It's CHICORY.  As in, the coffee substitute.  Now I need to learn how to harvest it.  I'd love to try some chicory.  I should google it.  Hang on again.

OK, so I found a cool website where a lady harvested, roasted, and tried Chicory coffee.  Here it is if you want to check it out.

 Next time I go, I think I'll take a baggie and pull a a root or two; just enough to try one cup of coffee.

It's so beautiful and feathery, and the prettiest blue ever.  My kitchen cupboards at my old house were  blue.  I miss them.

 I wish I could have grabbed my camera a bit faster than I did, because I really wanted to get a good photo of the guy in the pic above.  He was riding no hands, down the middle of the lane, looking at his smartphone!  Too funny!

 This is the other end of the creek that I took so many pictures of in past bike rides.  This No Fishing sign cracked me up; it says this creek is a fish sanctuary, but I can't see how; the water is so shallow and icky.  Maybe it's just low this year?

 When I was a little girl, and then a teenager, I used to walk or ride this route often, on my way to visit my cousins Michelle, Tony, and Michael, and my aunt Theresa and uncle Tony, and their ENORMOUS dog, Blackie.  He was a Great Dane; a big one.

 When I got to this point the sun started to set. As usual, my flash made everything seem much brighter than it actually was.  That bit of blue sky in the distance, in the photo above, was the first bit of blue I'd seen all day long.

 This tree has vines growing all the way up the trunk.  Cool!

 The house with the red cars in the driveway is the house that used to belong to my cousins, when they were little.

 This creek was down the street from their house, in a very pretty park. We used to go fishing here, and play in the park.

 These old gates are all that is left of the park. There used to be a road leading in, now there is just a little foot path.  It was getting dark so I didn't go in.  From the road, it looked completely overgrown.

 When I got to the intersection  of Allen Side Road and Second Line West, I decided to use the bike path and then loop down on my usual route, next to the other end of the creek (below).

This end of the creek (above), is usually as far as I go, so I'm glad i was able to some length to my route.

So far, this end of town is my favorite for riding. It's so quiet, and so pretty.  I am so happy that I bought my bike. I like walking, but I LOVE my bike.