The early bird catches the worm, they say. I always have been the morning lark type; so you’d think I had caught many worms by now!

Being an early bird lets me get in my ride before I go to work; and, in hot weather, it means I don’t have to ride in the hottest part of the day. Sometimes our afternoon heat index is over 100 degrees; and I’m not properly acclimated to ride for long in such heat. It might take several months to condition myself to it; and that means very short and/or easy rides at first. By the time I developed the proper conditioning, it would be Fall, anyhow; so I may as well ride before sunup.

Not that I was such a morning lark today. I got going late; and wanted a little extra time for breakfast, because I planned to heat some refried beans and rice.

La Rosarita Refried Beans

The wind was pretty stiff, and of course a headwind on the way back home; and I needed to allow some extra time for it. That meant a much shorter ride than usual!

It’s a Challenge!

Incidentally, a Love to Ride challenge really does become a challenge by the third week of the month. Normally I take Mondays off from riding; but during a Challenge month I make a special effort to ride each and every day. After several week of this, I start to feel a bit burned out.

My trips to the salvage store also mean I must be an early bird. I can’t avoid riding along a highway for about two blocks on my way to the store; and I prefer to do the trip early on Saturday, before there’s much traffic. On top of that, I suspect that the best stuff in that store goes fast; so I want to beat the crowds.

Speaking of birds, I must have something of the birdwatcher in me. My father was like that, too.

Reading Nature’s Signs

[Embed Read Nature] During my Sunday long rides, I keep an eye out for eagles [link]; bluebirds [link]; and once I even saw some roseate spoonbills [link — don’t I have a blog on this?]. If the early bird catches the worm, maybe it sees the birds, too.