This morning the weather was cool, the sun was hidden beneath a cloudy sky, and I took my first summer bike ride to Montrose beach. Actually, my first bike ride to Montrose beach ever. It was a non-stop trek, as I traveled north on Damen from the Bucktown neighborhood. I am slowly falling in love with Damen. It's an easy street to bike, as there's not too much traffic (cars, bikes, pedestrians) and clearly marked bike lanes in the more congested neighborhoods, but I digress. After heading north on Damen, I went east on Montrose to the lake front path to loop south to Fullerton and eventually over to Armitage. Traveling south on the lake front, I was reminded how nice it is to bike continuously without having any stops. It wasn't very crowded, since I was biking mid morning and the morning commute was over. It was a good route and the ride lasted an hour. After an hour long walk earlier this morning and then the ride, I was quite exhausted by lunch time. Afternoon cat nap was quickly add to my day's to do list. As a side note, I am on vacation from my job this week, so this is atypical, and am not a lady of leisure.
The next time I take this route, I will definitely pause for a moment or two to enjoy the scenery, and maybe snap a photograph or two. However, with the overcast skies, I wasn't interested in a dreary photo, and pushed on to get home before the inevitable rain. Instead, a cat I stumbled on during my morning walk.
Throughout the ride, there was one thought that consumed my mind. "I am completely unprepared, if something happens to my bike, I am going to have a long walk back to my apartment." After making a mental list of items to bring along during the ride, I brought water, my bike lock, phone and driver's license. I had planned to bring money or a credit card or even my transit pass. But, no, not this ride, and I was lucky. No accident on this trek 12 mile trek. Next time, I'll
at least bring along the transit pass (or credit card). Should something happen and my bike is unridable, at least I'd be able to lock up the bike, and not have to walk home.
This time, I was lucky.
