Election Stress Relief Ride

After a fairly sleepless night last night, obsessively checking my phone for election updates every hour or so, I decided I needed to get out on my bike for some stress relief. The last couple of days have been sunny, but cold and very windy here. I’ve managed short rides, but they’ve been challenging. Today was still chilly, around 35 degrees, but the wind has finally abated, so it felt quite pleasant. I headed out on a 13 mile loop, which incidentally is the very same loop that I documented in my very first post on Cycle365 a little over 5 months ago. This time, I was looking for some emptiness.

Trees, now empty of all their leaves. Looking much different than just a week ago.
Some empty shoes. I guess this would also classify as a roadside find. And Bill, they didn’t fit me so I left them there.
A roadside pull off, empty of all vehicles. This pull off is tucked away off the road, and I frequently notice truckers and local delivery drivers pulling in here and taking a little snooze in their trucks.

I passed up a few other empty opportunities; an empty parking lot, an empty beer can (Pabst Blue Ribbon), an empty soda can (Diet Mountain Dew). Seems like they’ve all been done already.

Getting back home, I felt a lot better. Maybe I’ll avoid any news websites for just a few more hours.

10 response to "Election Stress Relief Ride"

  1. By: Scooter Posted: November 4, 2020

    Thanks for the prod to get off the couch, I needed that. Gone for my own ride.

    • By: BobinVT Posted: November 5, 2020

      I hope it was a good ride, and provided some distraction. And I hope you’re settling back in to life in the good ol’ US of A, despite everything you’ve got going on.

  2. By: Bill Stone Posted: November 4, 2020

    Greg, do you think those shoes could be part of the wardrobe of the mysterious, invisible swimmer from Big River??? To bad they didn’t fit you, but they look like they might be my size.

    PS: As with Scooter, thanks for the prod. I gotta get out for a short ride.

    PPS: Before I go, it occurred to me that the vast majority of US-based riders who are active here live in states that voted blue yesterday. I’ll leave that to the TV pundits to mull, analyze, and over-analyze while waiting for more votes to be tallied.

    • By: gregblood Posted: November 4, 2020

      I’m pretty sure they do belong to the mysterious skinny-dipper. She really gets around. In this case, however, it appears she took off those street shoes, then put on a pair of climbing shoes so she could scale that mountain in Bob’s first picture. Unfortunately, when she climbed back down she forgot where she left the street shoes and had to walk all the way back to town in her climbing shoes. End of story.

      • By: Bill Stone Posted: November 4, 2020

        You’re probably right. I think everyone should be on the lookout for more evidence of the mystery woman all over the country and all around the world.

      • By: Lednar De Nalloh Posted: November 5, 2020

        Excellent deduction Sherlock Garceau

      • By: BobinVT Posted: November 5, 2020

        Probably good she stuck with the climbing shoes. It’s a long walk back to town and would not have been comfortable in those shoes.

    • By: BobinVT Posted: November 5, 2020

      Well, perhaps I’ll grab them for you next time I ride that way, assuming they are still there. Yes, I noticed that same blueness you mentioned. I’m guessing something to do with exercise and extra oxygen to the brain.

  3. By: Rich-Illinois Posted: November 5, 2020

    Dave and I too took off for a post election ride, and yes, it was a good thing to do — not a mention of the “E” word was spoken. 🙂
    I too noticed all of us 365ers are in blue states. 🙂

    Once we get past all the Mickey Mouse antics now ongoing (Nov 5) we can all ride and breath a breath of fresh air.

    • By: BobinVT Posted: November 6, 2020

      Well, I suspect we’ll be seeing antics for awhile yet, but I am hopeful there’s a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. In the meantime, let’s all keep riding!

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