We Biked

Someone gave us a bike carrier years ago that we'd never used and one of us had the bright idea to actually strap it on the car and load up the bikes and ride into Freeport from our campsite to further enhance our weekend experience.

It sounded great in theory until I started thinking about how un-athletic I am and until Alan actually tried to mount the rack on the van. One of the clips was missing and, after vainly checking every store we could think of that might have the right sort of thing, Alan was at a loss and we briefly thought perhaps it would be better to bag the idea.

But to me the missing strap was a puzzle to be solved. So I got creative and improvised with a plastic clip, some strapping, and a toy rolling pin the kids use for play-doh and I proudly presented my MacGyver-like contraption to Alan proclaiming that "If this works, I'm a genius!".



Well, it did work, but I suddenly thought "Genius?!? I'm an IDIOT!" I had thrown away a perfectly good excuse not to go on a really gruelling bikeride!
Ah...the high price of brilliance....





So we managed to get our bikes to Freeport in the appropriate number of pieces, and the weather was gorgeous, and the road looked pretty good and not too long and so my excuses all washed away with the previous night's rain.

And we were prepared. We had water bottles and snacks and sunscreen and helmets and cell phones and a spare tire tube and a toolset. We had an amazingly brilliant clear beautiful day. We were in no hurry and we walked up most of the hills without shame. We saw rambling farmsteads and quaint cottages, rolling vistas and a cool wind sculpture, gardens and guinea hens (at least, I think that's what those birds were that stopped traffic to usher their fluffy chicks across the road).


Here I am before we embarked on our 9 mile round trip looking confident...




or not [double-click the picture to see the look on my face]!



It was an hour before we arrived in Freeport's downtown, dripping with sweat. Fortunately we discovered that the new outlet village has luxurious, air-conditioned restrooms, where I changed into a clean tee and practically took a bath in the sink.

Then we shopped [see future post on the subject].

Here I am in Freeport looking pathetic because it's time to get back on the bike for the return trip:

Here's Alan contemplating the view--we're almost back to our campsite at this point, enjoying the breeze and the reasonable assumption that we'll make it back alive:



And here I am back at the start proving that I really did it (right before I basically fell over):



It was actually fun at times, and Alan never even needed to call the paramedics for me.

And eventually he even admitted that I am, in fact, a genius (at least in this case), so it was all worthwhile!