gladwyne

secret passages, they do exist.   I guess I've been riding long enough, and that I am curious enough, that I've have discovered a few.   Most are right there, close to the popular trails, but hidden, not groomed, not the same flow, or maybe, not socially excitable as others.

the base of "horse legs" climb

jump the rail off the highway ramp

today it was mild, toward the chilly side, 60's maybe rain, maybe light drizzle.   I worked on my pit cx bike and got it in good order, and knew I wanted to go ride the trails, that are special to me, I feel that I own, discovered.  I know that is far from the truth, but these are not Wissahickon, or Belmont.   These are quite trails, made, in my opinion, to meet all the needs, to suit me,  of a good cross ride.

It was one of the beautiful days in the woods, very green but not overgrown, misty, and enough precipitation to pelt the leaves with a light percussion,  smell, sight, sound, maybe a little taste of splattered mud a rare once in a while.   I was damp, but not wet, my body kept the soggy kit warm.



every now and then I'll take someone with me, but that's rare.   It is more enjoyable to ride these trails alone.



I came across a young man at the base to the climb "boys to men" and he was asking trail questions.  I have to say, that I was not rude, but I felt no need to divulge much of what I knew of all the trails back here.   maybe sometime at work, I learned that someone can tell you how or why to do something, but you don't learn it till you discover it yourself anyways.   Like giving someone a map, the roads, creeks, topo, its there, but not the journey, not the why, and how, it ends taking you, that it needs to take you,  the way along the way that you find it.

 

as much as I love riding these trails, I loved discovering them, and its the place where I ride, where I stop often, and am in awe, so overwhelmed by the landscape, that I feel empty.  No worries, needs.

"Gladwyne  was settled in 1682 by Welsh Quakers. It was near the Welsh Tract, and was known formerly as "Merion Square". It was given its new name in 1891 in order to imitate the stylish Welsh names of adjoining towns, although the name is meaningless in Welsh."

 

a meaningless name, for sure, a perfect place for me to ride.

 

Cheers, d.

easy week, easy nights

I hit up Cadence today,
to order two CX bikes, 
around this time of year I start getting it together.
I've been off the cross bike mostly.  mostly road miles
today, I went out on the old cx bike, and limped it along, mostly rolling pretty good,
a couple of skips in the shifting, but still running well enough to get 30miles in.

I'll keep one of old frames, and make it into a single speed, I'm afraid, the other,  It will be sold and move on.

It is unusual that I'm sentimental about a bike,  or the equipment.  
I was never in a deep love with these two.
I got a lot of use outta them, and trips, trails and loops I found around my house.
tons of racing.  Riding with friends, cross practices.  ordering the new bikes sort of makes me, gracious to the past,
They, the bikes, stand there in my memories, as some of my friends also.

It was a nice night yesterday, I grabbed a book, a bottle, and my camera.   took the Free Spirit over to Belmont Plateau, and sat at a table.   
pasted the time, and road home after dark.

Jefferson's wading in Bourbon.

cheers, dlowe.

Crazy

I went out for an easy ride.  
after giving my stepfathers Mini a jump start to send him on his way on his visit from Beaver, PA.

a man sat in the grass with grape vines in his hands and a nice basket being woven in his legs.
I road past a bit.  I saw a finished work just sitting along the path, and decided to U-turn and chat.

We talked a lot.  He road a scuzzy mtbike from New Orleans to Baltimore, he asked some questions about my bike, and hefted it in the air and was in awe of the lightness.

I thought about pulling out my phone and taking his picture, I couldn't figure it out
if he was a bit off, or.

It is impossible to say...



I've met my wife back in 1984. at OU, Ohio University,  I'd already dropped outta college, and had transferred from The ohio state university to OU.
I only stayed at OU one quarter, before taking another year off.

this morning, she was hopped up on cold medicine, and speeding along a bit fast.

I always wonder how off I have to be to be crazy.
I asked the grape vine weaving man about if he liked pictures of his works, he said no, that, superstition, that life just moves along forward.

Photography has a lot to do with ego for sure.

and crazy, I like to think of it in the romantic way, like Patsy Cline singing to me.

I've always been a bit of off my rocker, its taken me awhile, to accept.  
and I'll never make baskets so clever.

I shook his hand, and almost wanted to give him a hug, like a cousin, blood.
and pedaled my bike on my way, down Main st.


We had a great visit, Michael's visit, my stepfather,  I went to my first ballgame with him, its been since the MLB strike,  to see the Phillies beat the Indians.

for a long time I never felt love, I was a bit numb, don't know why,
so when I shake a hand and feel if its soft, warm, strong,
that goes to my heart.

The diner, The Avenue, in Lansdowne,  has a  small breakfast menu, and Ljiljana gave me a hard time about doing the drive to this funked up part of town, but everything we ate was great.

Cheers, dlowe.

Mondays

Mondays are good days for me.
usually my weekends are grand, riding, eating, drinking,
And when I wake to the alarm, if I have work, on Monday morning, the best.
and this morning, Ljiljana was up 1st, and I could smell and hear the La Colombe.

Mondays I ride over to Narberth, to The Greeks Next Door, a new team sponsor,
good for me for sure,
but I'd be riding over anyway, Mondays are 1/2 price growler fills.
they pick a nice batch of beers, and coming up with two, my 1/2 and my full growlers fills, is not hard at all to find something tasty.

the Director of Photography today, Mr. Gerardo Puglia,  is his soul Italy, old school.
he is warm, sexy, and artistic.  
so we drink too much espresso, that he provides.
While we were shooting an interview, I watched the electric kettle brew.
I smelled the aroma.
Tell me, what is like the aroma of espresso?
and the clones, the wanna be's, the doing it for the $, the ones who have secret lives way more full than mine,   if they walked this hall,  they'd inhaled the aroma.

I raced a bunch this weekend, no results to speak of, to mention.
I took my nap yesterday in the back yard listening to the strong winds blow.
and tonight I drink a tasty barley wine.

I am a king of an very small empire.


home -

cheers to Mondays, d.