Roni Riding

COVID-19 has changed the world for all of us.  I remember those who have succumbed and those on the front lines: medical professionals, grocery workers, truckers, etc.  I pray that the virus will be contained as soon as possible, a vaccine will be developed quickly, and we all can recover physically, emotionally, and economically.

In the meantime, I'm doing what I can to address the problem (social distancing, washing my hands frequently, etc.) and not worrying because worrying doesn't help.  I can't teach classes, but I'm trying to maintain my other sources of income, which, thankfully, are mostly Internet based.  Although I'm not a Jordan Engineering employee, my physical office is located there.  The other office workers at Jordan Engineering have started working from home, but Robert and I are still going to the office.  He and I are a roni unit regardless, so we might as well go to the office where we can get more work done.

By the way, I've taken to calling it the roni because of the comic strip Tiny Snek.

Thankfully, no.  Let's keep it that way.

One thing I'm particularly grateful for is that I can keep riding!  Although I miss my Tuesday Worlds cyclopeeps and my rando buddies, I still can ride lots, either solo or with Robert.


Ice Cream Ride

Last Saturday, March 21 was supposed to be the Fried Clay 200K.  It had to be postponed, and so I devised my own, alternate ride for the day.  I did a longish road ride with a stop for ice cream at the end.  Best of all, Robert joined me - it was a date!

We were riding down Hillsboro Road in Putnam County and saw another cyclist in front of us.  Lo and behold, it was my buddy Graham!

Graham and his friend Jason had planned to do the 420K option on the Fried Clay.  Although both the 200K and the 420K were postponed, Jason decided to ride the 420K anyway by himself.  He had started the previous evening at 8:00 PM, as originally intended for the event, and ridden through the night.  Graham had headed out early Saturday morning in the opposite direction.  When he met Jason, he was going to ride the remainder with him.  It was fun to chat with Graham for a few minutes.

Robert and I continued on our road ride.  At first I had thought about riding through the Dairy Queen drive-through, but earlier that day I saw a Facebook post that Edge'ys on the square would be open for curbside service that afternoon.  They specialize in ice cream - time for a slight (and delicious!) change in plans.

And, of course, nothing completes an ice cream outing like a leg lamp.

Oconee National Forest MTB

The next morning Robert and I went to MTB church in the Oconee National Forest in south Jasper County.  He let me set the pace, and I'm happy to report that I felt pretty comfortable overall on my mountain bike.  I'm still not ready for anything too technical, but I'm doing pretty well with the more flowing trails.  It was such a beautiful early spring morning.

Atamasco lilies

Native azalea

Mayapples (They look like frog umbrellas!)

Blue paint marks the trail.

Long Branch

Crossing Long Branch

Sitting a spell at Waterfall Creek

Part of an old moonshine still

Trifoliate orange

Sneaky snake (cousin to Tiny Snek).  Actually, it's a non-venomous rat snake.  Robert got a long stick and moved it off the road so it wouldn't get run over.

PWR

Yesterday I rode to the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge (PWR).  The route was mostly dirt/gravel roads.  The PWR is one of my favorite places to ride, and I'm so glad it's still accessible during these times.

The PWR is managed for red cockaded woodpecker habitat.  It's an endangered species that prefers old pine trees with little underbrush.

The understory dogwood trees are in full bloom.

One of the few times I had to dismount.  I'm not coordinated enough to ride through the small gaps on either side of the sign.

One of the tools for managing red cockaded woodpecker habitat is prescribed burning.  Note flames on the right and smoke to the left of that.

Natural Rock Crossing.  The flow was moderate this day.  I walked my bicycle across - no arse busting for me!

River Road next to the Ocmulgee River

New Hope Church Road, a county dirt road.  I love the spring green everywhere.

I'm grateful for country churches with outdoor water spigots.

I had a really great roni ride this past Saturday, too, but I'll save that for the next report.