It’s truly a blessing to live in the country. I’ve never been a city girl, even for a visit. Having been raised in the country, it’s what I know and what I love. Today’s ride was nothing overwhelmingly spectacular by most standards but it was fun and relaxing, well most of it but we’ll get to that later.
Initially I was afraid the weekend was going to be a washout that meant no riding, but the weather man was wrong yet again fortunately. My daddy had a saying about weather men that I won’t share here, but suffice it to say he thought they often lied and I can’t help but think of him saying it every time they’re wrong.🤣 I saw both my mom and my mother in law prior to deciding to head out for a ride and had a peaceful feeling about riding today. I used a bluetooth speaker in one ear for a short time, but found it to be too distracting. I now just stop periodically if I feel the need to check for calls instead, but did not feel that need today.
As always I had no idea where my ride would take me and I fully intended to record it on an app I use sometimes, but apparently I never hit the “start” button. Guess I’ll have to try to redo the same ride another day maybe and push that silly button. I glanced at the radar before I left and it showed I had about 3-4 hours rain free to get in a ride probably. I headed out on a familiar route, stopped for gas, and decided to head towards the lake. I love to just ride by it and see the boats, people fishing, kids swimming, and families just enjoying time in nature having a picnic or whatever. It’s one place I’ve noticed people NOT totally engrossed in their cell phones. It also reminds me of when I was young and took swimming lessons in a lake and of fun times with a couple of friends who had camps on a nearby lake. I remember trying to water ski too, that didn’t go so well.
As I rode along I had decided to just take a route I often do, then I ran into a slight bit of rain. As I was about to pull off the road to check the radar, the drizzling rain stopped so I just kept riding. I looked at the clouds and sky in each direction and decided to change my plan. I wasn’t ready to stop riding, but also didn’t want to be too far from home if the weather changed quickly. Another beauty of living in the country is there’s no shortage of back roads to ride. I chose some roads today that I rarely go on, but I knew they would be close enough to get home rather quickly if I needed to due to rain, and they would also offer some fun curves and pretty scenery. I travelled along some streams that reminded me of NH where I grew up and saw some cows standing in ponds to cool off. I actually saw a young cow swimming, which was not something I’d ever recalled seeing before. I’ve seen plenty of cows standing in ponds all of my life, but this was a first. I was actually a bit jealous because I LOVE to swim and just don’t have a place I feel comfortable to do that now that we don’t have a pool.
As I got to the end of one road and approached a main highway, I had to stop for traffic. While I was stopped, I saw a group of 4-5 bikes coming up behind me. I have no idea where they came from as I never saw them at all until they were right there at the intersection. As I pulled out onto the highway I thought about the fact I ride alone, except on the occasions my hubby goes with me. I don’t have to time when I pull out in order to allow for others to also make it out before the traffic approaches. I make last minute decisions often about where I’m going to turn and head next. I would imagine most who ride together have a pre-planned route when they go and that is so not me. I would like to ride with a group maybe one time just to experience what it’s like, but I am definitely a spur of the moment rider. I even surprise myself sometimes when I’m going to turn onto another road and make a last minute decision to change directions.
As I reflect on that now, I realize that for most of my life I wanted a plan. I wanted to know what was happening when and wanted to be prepared ahead of time. I’ve become more flexible about that in recent years and I believe that’s from the type of work I do and also from riding. As I made one last minute road choice I found myself feeling like something had just landed inside my tshirt. That’s not such an easy thing to handle as you’re riding down the road, not knowing what it was or if it might sting or not. I had been hit by multiple bugs on my legs as I rode but this was not my leg! There was no place I could see close by where I could easily pull over, but I was in the country on a straight section of road with no traffic either direction and no houses around. This meant no people, so I was able to remove the bug easily with one hand before it got too far down my shirt, no stings, Thank you Lord! That was the not so relaxing part of my ride I mentioned at the beginning of this. 😉 I don’t even know what it was, I just quickly grabbed it and got rid of it.
The rest of the ride was again relaxing and I just wanted to ride all day. I knew there was bad weather coming though so I decided I better head home soon for safety reasons. Wet roads can be dangerous roads and with people cutting their grass and leaving clippings in the road as well that was not something I wanted to contend with. One thing I’ve also learned from days like this, you don’t have to go far from home to have an adventure.
As I finish this up, having been delayed from finishing writing this over the weekend for reasons unknown to me, I feel I need to share something else. Maybe this is why I wasn’t able to finish writing it sooner. As I have mentioned before we all need to find that one or two things we can do for peace, relaxation and to just clear our minds. We all also need to have someone we can talk to about anything and everything. If not your spouse, then a best friend or family member. Please, if you know anyone who is having an issue with drugs and/or domestic violence, be that person they can come to and don’t give up on them. Pray continually for them and help in other ways if you can. Help them to find that positive outlet before it’s too late. Domestic violence isn’t always physical, it can also be mental/verbal abuse or a combination of them. I read yesterday about a local beautiful 19 year old girl that was fighting for her life. From everything I’ve read it may be due to both of the subjects I just mentioned. I learned this morning that she passed away and it absolutely breaks my heart. She was younger than my own boys. I’ve seen what drugs and domestic abuse can do first hand with friends and loved ones over my 54 years and it’s truly heart breaking for everyone involved. She still had her entire life ahead of her and I can’t imagine what her friends and family are going through. Please if you or someone you know is in this situation, don’t wait to reach out. There is help available and a God who will help if we let Him in, we listen to His calling, and follow His lead. I don’t understand why these things happen but I know He can and will help us if we ask and truly believe.
Ramblings of a Christian Grandma Biker 