Around town

Saturday is my long ride and low HR day, you know a 40 to 45 miler with no racing or intervals just all spin and grin. For two and a half hours I have no destination to get to in a hurry or as the song says," ...with no particular place to go..." That seems to be the perfect way to spend a Saturday, just hours in the saddle and enjoyment of the road and all it's hidden aspects.  I dig it!
This last Saturday I rode from my house 20 miles to outskirts of town and 10 more to the center. Then it's back home or a meet with someone in town and have lunch. This last week was no different, I started out with out any expectations accept to see Naples. Even though I have seen this scenery for ten years I get to 'see' more if I have no expectations.  There were lots of cyclists on the rode but can you tell me why some give the wave, you know the recognition from one cyclist to another, and others don't even look up? I keep thinking that maybe it's because I ride a 4 year old Trek and one made in the US...that's got to be it!
The weather was perfect overcast, 60 degrees with a 5 mph breeze that shifted directions. Not like last weekend that had 20 mph head wind with gust up 45 mph, but it was still fun. So I'm riding around and having a great time keeping my HR down and seeing some back streets I haven't seen. In case I haven't told you Naples is the home of every exotic car ever built by man. In fact so many the easiest way for me to describe it would be to tell you to go to a Magazine shop, look up some obscure car and then come see it being driven here in Naples. It's just that cool.
Besides having a septuagenarian not see me merging in to a lane that she decided to occupy at the last minute, because she was talking to her friend about what ever it was she was talking about and not 'seeing' the traffic, it was a very good ride. You know how if you push yourself to be consistent past the pain and ride the hills, or in this case the overpasses, standing on the pedals and that finale couple of miles your legs are burning but you are not going to back off because you want to go past this stage of your development? Well I was there and the feeling of accomplishment was like standing on top of the Golden Gate bridge and seeing everything at once. That's when I got lazy. Turning into the parking lot where I was meeting the wife, I was euphoric and I did not see the drainage grate that I see every time I ride into that lot. Well my front rim sunk into that  space between grate and blacktop, I went over the bars as gracefully as I could taking as much weight off the rim as possible to save it and down I went. Nothing broken or maimed and I was fine too. Just goes to show how not focusing for a split second can put a hurt on you and/or your ride. The Trek lost a tube and ripped the side wall on the front tire which was the extent of the damage, I got just a little rash and didn't even rip my kit..WHEW! Lesson learned.
 Well keep at it and if I pass you on the road stop at Peets, because your buying.
PS, Versus has broadcast  the Tour of Qatar. The tour looked very interesting but had an announcer who sounded very dull, kinda like at the golf course. To top it off he had no back-round commentary which is the usual affair on this channel. Versus usually has done a good job of giving us all the back stories and such, this time I slept through it.