In Which an Owl Enlivens a Quick Sunny Ride

Bike map drawing of the day: City skyline in background, street light in foreground.

The ride today was only an hour. I started grading in the morning, and by 2:30 in the afternoon was ready for a break, so I rode the road bike out to the park in Robins and back.

It was the first ride with one of my new cloth masks, and it took a little experimentation for me to figure out how best to tie it on. It caused a bit of glasses fogging, but not much.

I was glad for the mask. I don’t always wear one on bike rides—if I’m going on a street route and am unlikely to get close other people, I don’t think there’s much point, but I was going on well used parts of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail at a busy time of day on a sunny, warm Friday afternoon—mask time.

It was, I think, a successful ride from several points of view. I looked on it as mask training for this summer, and it seemed to go well. CR Biker is acclimating to the biker bandito look of 2020, and the mask is more comfortable and possibly more effective than tying a bandana to my face.

The quick ride was cool for another reason. Between the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and the city park in Robins, the side trail goes through some woods. A large bird took to the air and zoomed across the trail in front of me, too quickly for me to raise my camera and make an image. But when it perched on a tree, I was able to capture it.

Nice owl. Nice quick bike ride.

The owl in the woods.