Roadside treats

For braving the heat and humidity, I was blessed with the sightings of two indigo buntings flashing their brilliant blue into the steamy sky and a paddling turtle bobbing above and below the river surface. The underwater swimming of the turtle transported me to more halcyon times snorkeling with the sea turtles in Kealakekua Bay. Cycling glasses cut the glare, and they were there.

Not so daily

Been on a bit of blog hiatus, so the ephemera is not so daily.

Cycled to St. Hubert's shelter this afternoon to get reacquainted with the staff. Kittens and puppies galore populate the crates and runs. There is a sweet, black female lab that recently had puppies. She has the look of Carlo... Most of the animals are from Puerto Rico. Am trying to get my head around the fact that the facility is the shelter for my town. (If most of the animals are rescues from PR, then what about the NJ homeless?)

I hope to stay as green as possible and use the bike to and fro, although there are some tight spots along the roadway up there. The heat was a factor today, but any RAGBRAI alumna worth her salt can soldier on.

The Route Most Taken

So, the ebird.org site gave me the hint about using Runningmap.com to create my own route. I think it is better for plotting running routes -- duh, runningmap.com. But, it isn't too bad for cycling either. Here is my initial try at one of my fav cycling routes for a quick out and back in Neshanic.

White October

Wind and snow galore yesterday! Which weather station is the most reliable? NOAA and the National Weather Service give the best official-sounding info. Weatherbug is nice and local, although I hated the toolbar hog that I once had and deleted it. Not sure if they've improved it or not. Accuweather seems reliable. I like their hourly and 15-day forecasts, especially for travel planning. The Weather Channel feels cozy and familiar because it is like their cable TV channel.

Back in the RAGBRAI planning days, I poured over tornado archives for Iowa before the trip out to the mid-west. Tornados were the most terrifying weather events that might occur during the bicycling trip that never happened. Before going, I religiously monitored the storm spotters on SKYWARN who religiously monitored every little pressure system whizzing by. Every night seemed ominous, and the bulletin boards were full of potential twist and shout warnings. Historically, for RAGBRAI, the last week of July seems to work out OK for avoiding twisters. I made it a habit at each overnight town to look for the signs identifying the temporary tornado shelters (as though I would have enough time and presence of mind to skedaddle. Not!).

Synthetic Fashonista in The Great Outdoors

The Gore bike wear provides great breathability and wind protection when spinning down the road on these cool October days. My first red jersey is set to become a favorite, along with all the Pearl Izumi regalia and an Under Armour t-shirt.

Prolegomena to Ephemera

This is the first blog post of Tomboy Traveler. It seems natural to take an initial stab at explaining the blog's theme.

There's a place and time for all things. This blog may highlight ephemera from days past or days future. It may highlight today's Interesting Matters. The ephemera are to have a loose association with a tomboy's travels, and may happen in the real, virtual, or imaginary worlds. You decide.

Today's ephemera is about yesterday.

The Central Bucks Bicycle Club hosted its 28th annual Covered Bridges Ride. We did the 50-miler. As always, it was hilly and chilly. NNW winds kept the sunny, flat parts challenging. The homemade chocolate chip cookies were good. Thank you bakers!