Fun
Looks like… we get out and about. An island full of gnomes. Seal. Defibrillator with instructions confusing enough to stop you in your tracks. Rent a bike. Castle. Foreboding sky. Rain, but of course. We saw this couple in the pub with a pitcher each. Alcohol? Oh boy! Soda? I don’t drink that much. What the…?
It’s not the travel or the location. It is the adventure you have with the one you love. We had a good time. We have good times. We have had good times. We will have good times.
Ride by
“Drive by… shooting” came to mind as the title. Humorous? …perhaps in another time. “Shooting,” as in photography. Not today. We rode by to say “hi” and to check on the cousins. There was plenty of yard work and planting going on. Biking. It’s good for you.
Class
Weaving. Colleen wove this in a week. It was a sampler demonstrating double weave. ??? I think. Who knows? I was on my own to explore Amish country. Quaint. It is a clash of modern vs old. Horse and buggy, bicycle without pedals, modern hay baler pulled by horse, clothing without buttons, it’s just so dyssynchronous.
There are many who gawk. (Guilty, me.) The folks are oblivious. They tolerate. There’s no choice. They are out in the public. Or, that would make me rude. Sorry. A camera and me? There’s no way i pass up a photo op. I just do my best to be discrete.
People
I don’t get too many people ops in Delaware. We don’t see too many people to note. But in Washington DC, photo ops are all around. Keep alert. Shoot early and often. There’s lots to see. I’m still a color guy at heart. I see color not black and white. It works for me. Yes, one needs to be vigilant. What? Umbrellas? Umm…why? I haven’t a clue. …just strangers being strange.
No rhyme or reason here. I like this image straight out of the camera. Flaws, sure?! Often I will take multiples to be sure I have captured the moment. Too often exposure or focus is an issue. This time there was one and only. Post production manipulation is always an option but I don’t choose to do much.
Biking
I taught Jules to ride a bike on Long Island. The trick is to use the advantage of a spinning wheel (gyroscope) that tends to stay upright when spinning fast. I just pushed from behind, gave her the notion I was holding on, and then let her go off on her own. It wasn’t hard. She got the hang of it right away. I learned from my mistake with brother John. I tried to get him riding on our lawn in Elkins. He couldn’t peddle well enough in grass to stay upright. Hey! You learn. David was younger but quickly followed his sister’s example.
Biker
Dave has been on an extended trip. He has done 1000 miles in about ten days. He plans to ride ‘cross country. It’s a feat. Endurance. It’s something you can do when you are young. I reached my physical limit years ago. I once rode 96 miles in a day. I couldn’t pedal the last four miles. Bravo Dave!
Ponquogue Bridge
I got a call one night. I was home in NY and on call. Lisa was on Long Island. It was twilight and she was breathless. She’d found a bridge and rode over it. She was still a long way from home but the view was breathtaking and she was exhilarated. It is a very long tall bridge in a spot you would never expect. Despite the long uphill ride, it’s not too strenuous. We’ve done it many times together since she discovered it. As impressive and hard as one might expect from its look, I’ve never been physically challenged as I thought. Every time we ride it I smile.
Bike: Boston to NY
Lisa did a bicycle ride from Boston to New York City. It was an AIDS ride for charity. I think I was the main charity contributor. I’ve never done anything like this. I don’t have the will to train. Lisa did. she rode in all sorts of weather even the dead cold of winter. The photos aren’t pretty. She was physically exhausted and beat up. Her face had general edema from the physiological strain. But she did it!! And boy were we all proud. The kids and I went to the westside and caught our first glimpse after three days. The bike was a problem and her leg hurt. She was basically pedaling on one side. I could go on and on. Susan and Kevin gave her a send off in Boston.
Nick and Nannette met her in NYC. We were all pretty proud. Funny as it seems, I later became the one to obsessively ride for fitness. Julia only recently took Lisa’s old Peugeot bike to California. It’s retro. And David never rode, and then he did a triathlon and went to Mexico for a 1000 mile summer trip by bike.
Speaking of Bikes
I have told you J learned to ride on LI. David learned on the same street a little while later. At that point, we were a family who could ride. So… we rode together. The kids just never liked it that much. Still in later years David did a triathlon and J took off with Lisa’s old heavy bike to LA – retro is in. But for a while we would ride as a family.
Most memorable – well close – we were parked under a tree and were swarmed by mosquitoes, truly a cloud, that sent us away in a hurry. Not this tree… but you get the idea.
Embarrassing Moment
We were on a five borough bike tour of New York City. There were thousands of riders strung out all over. As we rode along a road near La Guardia airport… I snapped this shot from the rear while riding… and was immediately admonished by my spouse (it’s not her!!). Well, if you wear worn out clothes in public, it’s fair game. No names, just places. It’s not a nice thing. It is in the category of street photography. There was no intent to offend. But a word to the wise, watch what you wear and where you wear it.
AIDS Bike Ride
One summer we were all involved in a training program aimed at getting Lisa to and from Boston on the AIDS bike ride. It involved getting physically fit and raising the money to do the ride. I wasn’t inclined to join. It was her big adventure. She had never pushed herself to this physical limit. It was quite an achievement. She rode Boston to New York City in three days riding some pretty tough road. This isn’t her best picture. She’s swollen from the ride, yada yada. But the joy of accomplishment is all there.
Best friends
First Bikes
Some people save things. When you live in an apartment, you don’t. Or at least we don’t. I would but since I’m not really the boss, you understand. So when the kids were a bit too tall for their first two wheelers, it was time to donate to Salvation Army. Sentimental that I am, I tried to advocate to save them and the answer was that when the kids had their own kids they would want to buy the grandkids a bike that they chose. Is that convoluted or what? Well, I think my wife’s correct again. Instead I have to settle for the memory. The kids didn’t seem to be having any separation problem. My wife made two trips with the bikes. I couldn’t do it. On the second a couple guys asked her and she donated the second bike to them for their kids. She then went back to Salvation Army to get the first bike back but they wouldn’t let her have it to give away. Go figure.
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