The View from the Bike...

Finally, I made it out for another bike ride. Once again, it’s been too long since I’ve been out on my bike. The boulevard is much less crowded on Sunday afternoons than it is on weekday mornings around 7:00. In fact, for quite a while today, there were more taxis than anything else out there.

That doesn’t mean that there was nothing to see, or no obstacles to avoid. It even seemed like some of the taxis were passing me a bit closer than normal. I’m sure it has something to do with the sight of a gringa on a bike, who is obviously out there for exercise and enjoyment, not just to get from one place to another. I’m also sure that the riding shorts, sleeveless jersey and mirror attached to my sunglasses make me just a bit more conspicuous. Target practice, perhaps?

At any rate, it certainly felt good to be riding. I did five laps on the boulevard and took a short side trip up toward El Volcan. I only got about one mile out on that road before turning around and heading back, though. I’m sure the young bull that was right in front of me, mooing, thought that he made me turn around. I think I sensed a little self-impressed twinkle in his eye as I turned. But, no, the real reason I decided to head back for home was because of the storm coming down the mountain. The thunder had a bit of a detrimental effect on my desire to keep riding. So, turn around I did, letting the bull think that it was all because of him.

Once back on the boulevard I finished my current lap and wondered if I could make it one more lap before the rain hit. Well, I decided that the temperature was dropping a bit too quickly and the clouds were getting darker and more ominous by the minute, so safety should probably rule the day. I made it back to the house just a few minutes before the rain started. Looks like I made the right decision. 13 miles. Not too bad, but not terribly good, either.

While out there today, I did see something new. I was headed up the boulevard and coming down on the other side was a man on a horse. That part is nothing new. But the man had a rope in his hand and was leading a small donkey with a young boy on it. OK, that’s not new, either. The new part is the young colt that was running along with them. Kind of. The colt had no halter or lead and was running in the median. And in the road. Then back to the median. It really did look like it was enjoying itself. But it made me nervous to wonder if it was going to bolt out into the road just as a car was passing. Thankfully, that didn’t happen, as evidenced by no colt in the road on my return trip.