Hastings’ California
When I was watching Storm Chaser Greg’s special report this morning I pretty much blew it off as another one of his exaggerated and irrational “dangerous” weather alerts. Like most forecasters all over the country, he thrives on sensationalistic weather reporting to keep the viewers watching, and he’s usually wrong. This time, however, I should have heeded his warning.
Not only is the sun an agent of painful sunburn and long term skin cancer, but it also causes blindness by piercing into your eyeballs while riding your bike.
Native Californians are used to the sun, of course. They get to enjoy sunshine something like 350 days a year. They have almost as many sunny days as they have Electoral Votes which, I might add, they put to good use this year.
But the residents of Hastings’ California are easily mesmerized by bright sunshine. They fall into a false sense of being warm even when the air temperature is only about 40-degrees (F). That’s what happened to me today, as you shall see a little later in this post.
My venture into Hastings’ California began (and pretty much ended) with a trip to the beach. After all, that’s what Californians do. Words like “snow” and “cold” are foreign concepts to them. They ride their bikes and hike and surf and golf and play soccer in beautiful weather all year round. (They even get into college on crew scholarships thanks to their year-round rowing opportunities.)
So, I get to the beach and pull out my book that I’ve brought along to read while sunning myself on the beach. I’ve heard that California is even more liberal than Minnesota. I thought I should catch up on some liberal literature. Luckily I’ve kept most of my books from my college days.
I’ve also heard Californians are very laidback, fashionable, and ultra-cool. I wanted to fit in, so I dressed myself in my best California-chic outfit. This is what all the cool dudes and chicks wear . . . isn’t it?
It didn’t take too long under the hot sun before I started feeling that false sense of heat stroke. I thought maybe I should cool off with a quick dip in the Little Pacific Ocean.
That concludes this series of rides to the Cycle365 neighborhoods of MY Town. It might have been a clever gimmick for a while, but the novelty has worn off. I look forward to taking a break and just concentrating on the various challenges we have going on.
gregblood
Hi. My name is Greg and I ride my bike a lot. That is to say, I ride my bike almost every day. I go on long rides and short rides. Sunny rides, cloudy rides, and rainy rides. I like commuting, errand-running, day-tripping, overnighting, and touring on my bike. I ride on city streets, highways, gravel, single track, and snow with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes I ride fast and sometimes I ride slow. I try to keep my feet on the pedals at stop lights and I do not dismount when I hop up on a curb. I have a roadie bike, a mountain bike and a touring bike. I try to accept any challenge a bike ride can throw at me without complaint. But I don't like bugs.
6 response to "Hastings’ California"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
We too had that bright yellow orb in the sky today — amazing!
Great series of comparisons, Thanks for an entertaining time!!
Sorry the series has come to an end, but then again I know you will be back…….
You were spot on about that little fireball in the sky, had a couple of cancers cut out. Who would have known that Hastings has so many neighbourhoods, thanks for the entertainment..
YOUR Town has certainly kept us entertained (with your help, of course). I’m a little sad that this collection of posts has come to an end.
As with the others, it is sad to see an end to the series. But, as Suzanne says — we know you will be back ?.
D-u-u-u-u-u-d-e!!! I mean like d-u-u-u-u-u-d-e!!! You swiped my best winter cycling outfit! That’s cool, bro. That’s cool. It is what it is, man. It’s all good. Peace out.