Pedaling and parody go together quite well when you’re out for a long ride. When mile after mile gets monotonous, you can help those miles go by faster by thinking up silly variations on a song.

I thought up my own variation on the first and second verses of the Kookaburra Song; and I call it Cajun Kookaburra!

Kookaburra sits in the cypress tree; Merry, merry king of the swamp is he/Sing, Kookabura, sing, Kookaburra; Sing your song for me.

Kookaburra sits in the cypress tree; Counting every gator he can see/Say, Kookaburra; say, Kookabura; How many do there be?

OK, so I’ve got a weird mind. You can blame my upbringing for that. My mother once said she had raised us on pun and parody. But it was a nice break from dreaming up new recipes. It was also a nice break to have a tailwind on the way home.

I’m glad I rode early today; I was back home by 9:40 am. I was already aware that there would be a heat advisory from 10 am onwards. About half an hour after I finished my ride, I checked NOAA. An excessive heat warning had just been posted; and is in effect until 8 pm. The heat index could reach 112-113 degrees!

Perhaps the heat explains why I was quite prone to coasting today. My legs seemed to lack “snap”. For that matter, I had planned not to try pushing things hard, precisely because of the temperature.

I hope I don’t have to go anywhere now. I want to stay indoors and stay as cool as this place will let me. A shower would probably help, but would be an exercise in futility. I’d need another shower by this evening!

As for pedaling and parody, I can keep on with the latter. I think I’ve had enough of the former for today.

Note: as of Oct. 7, 2022, the video I first used for the Kookaburra song is no longer available.