T-Blog

If you read this blog regularly, you know I skip work some mornings to go for a bike ride. The boss is setting a bad precedent....

I never come back from a bike ride without feeling it was a gift. This morning was no exception. I was enjoying a nice little tailwind as I rode up Lincoln Road. A little way up the road, I could see a bunch of people standing around. I figured it was probably a garage sale. But as I came closer, I saw they had binoculars and scopes. And since they weren't policemen, they could only be....birders!

I came to a stop, announced myself as a birder and asked what they were looking at. A rufous hummingbird, they said! This hummer is a west coast resident. Once in a while, he comes east, but usually southeast. Wow! Somehow he ended up in upstate New York and found a full hummingbird feeder.

So, I hung out with them for a while. They were nice enough to share a scope when the rufous went for the feeder, so I now have another bird to add to my life list.

Life is full of small gifts like this. And they're all the better when they happen on a bike ride!

Oh yeah -- the hummer in this drawing? It's a ruby-throated. But it's in the public domain!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Posted by Georgena Terry at 09:03 PM | Permalink

My sometimes riding buddy Ric has heeded the pending breakup of agreeable weather here on the shores of Lake Ontario and fled to Florida, where he will wait out the winter months. On beautiful days like today, I'm the one who's gloating, but come January, the "wish you were here" postcards will arrive and gloat will turn to growl.

I first met Ric a few years ago. I'm terrible with names, but I always remember bikes, so Ric was "the guy on the brown Nishiki" to me for a couple of years. Then one fine Spring day, he turned up on a red Specialized and I didn't recognize him! But with the help of mnemonic devices, I now know he's Ric regardless of what bike he's riding.

Ric is also known to me as "Mr. Red Blood Cell". That's because he's a biochemist who is intimately familiar with machines that analyze human blood. Most of our rides this July were spent discussing the Tour de France. I learned things about blood, EPO and haematocrit that fascinated me. It fleshed out the Tour in a way I never thought possible, so to speak.

We have some incredible riding here. Lightly traveled roads, agreeable terrain and friendly drivers. How can you not want to ride on roads with names like "Sweets Corners" or "Cream Ridge"? I rode some of our routes today and took a few photos so Ric won't forget us. Well, it's not just for Ric. It's for me, too. Come January, I imagine these photos might be a source of comfort and a reason to get through winter.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Posted by Georgena Terry at 08:03 PM | Permalink

I played hooky this morning and went for a bike ride. It's October the 4th, the sun is shining, the air is calm and the temperatures are in the low 70's. And as uplifting and mystical as this wonderful riding day is, it's also a little bittersweet because in this part of the country, the curtain of grey clouds that will envelope us for the next five months could drop at any time. But for now, I'll celebrate.

And what a morning! This time of year, the sun is just low enough to make the road look like a ribbon of light that urges my tires on. With no wind to compete, that quiet whish of rubber on road is the perfect backdrop to the honking of Canada Geese and the stop and go chattering of whirling flocks of Icterids perfecting their formations in advance of migration. Thanks for letting me join in your chorus, guys.

Back at home, sitting outside and enjoying a recovery drink, it occurred to me that my enjoyment of cycling is almost, well, primal; like it's been a part of me since before I could walk. Indeed, one of my earliest memories is of looking up at the sky while being pushed around in a baby carriage. I guess a bonding of wheels and movement took place then that's stayed with me ever since. Always moving, always under a big sky that I want to own, but never can. Some things are just better that way.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Posted by Georgena Terry at 03:58 PM | Permalink