In Which I Note Sure Signs of Spring

Late Monday. I had bell practice until 7 p.m. and then had to pick up some stuff. This is corner of  F and Collins Road at close to 8 p.m. Pretty sunset, and it's not full dark anymore. Sun is climbing the sky!

April is here, fellow rollers. There are all kinds of signs that, although there will still be some frost and possibly even flakes of snow now and then, winter is gone.

For the first time this week, I don’t recall for sure which day, I rode in the morning sans coat. It has to be close to 50 for that to happen. And I've worn the coat since then, so it’s not as if I put it away—but I don’t need it every day, and that’s new.

March 30? March 31? I think it was Monday the 30th. Me, heading to work (on The Beast) with no coat.

Also, Francis! I got a flat tire way back when, November sometime, I think, and had not had time to get to the bike shop, since my spare tube proved to have a flawed valve. But I finally got the tire fixed Friday, April 3, and although it was getting late, I had to pick up some things on campus and rode Francis.

Spring is here--but not all snow is gone. Or it wasn't despite warm days this week--slowly melting snow hills in Rockwell-Collins parking lot. Might be gone by now, but the remnants of the winter were amazingly resilient.

The first ride was just to the corner, where I discovered, to my dismay, that the brakes were too loose and the derailleurs too stiff to shift much. Well, a few minutes with a hex wrench and WD-40, and I was back in the saddle again.

It's back! I've just fixed Francis. Started to change tubes at 5 p.m. and found the rubber gasket that goes around the wheel was broken--but luckily the bike shop closes at 6, not 5 as I had feared. So a bit after 6, I was finally ready to ride. After 6 on Good Friday, MMU was a pretty quiet place.

Truly, I’m grateful to The Beast, which proved a very useful winter beater bike. And it was a bit strange to ride Francis again—it felt so oddly light, and I was also so very much taller on that bigger bike—but I’m glad to again be riding my regular wheels.

Today, Amelia got the first ride.

And yesterday we got some items from our rented storage unit—including lawn chairs for an Easter egg hunt today. Anyway, we also retrieved the toddler seat and child’s helmet, which meant today I gave three grandchildren bike rides. I would have given four, but one returned home while I was out with another—but, no worries. It’s a long season of warm months, and I’m sure the granddaughter in question will get many rides.

Welcome, warm months. I am not sure I’ll ride many days next week—it’s supposed to be an unsettled, potentially wet week. But still—spring, I am happy you are here.