Warm and humid start to the day. "How warm and humid?" you ask. Thanks for asking - I got out on the CTX just before 9:00 - it was 80º and 92% humidity. You notice that. Blue sky and very light breeze. Even with protective gear on, it was pleasant on the bike as long as you were moving.
Today is the Friday of the Memorial Day Weekend. With the weather we're experiencing, I expect big crowds coming to the beach... it is generally 10º or more cooler at the beach than inland. My goal of getting out before the traffic rolls in worked - easy riding. Plenty of stupid behavior out there, but nothing that felt life-threatening. On the side street heading to the causeway, I was doing the speed limit - a guy blew by me like I was parked; he got to the stoplight almost 8 seconds before I did. I watched him jump lanes back and forth across the causeway. Maybe he was late for work? Maybe he's just an asshole?
Once on SPI, I watched a guy (also in a pickup) blow through the red light. Green means go, yellow means go real fast, red means only 3 more cars. Driving up Gulf Blvd, I saw people dart out between parked cars without looking, heading to the beach. A young lady in a one piece thong swimsuit was roller skating on the bike/walking lane... I thought to myself: it would be a darn shame to scuff up that pretty posterior if she falls. She seemed very steady on her skates. A tan tush, so she had been doing this a while... those thoughts went through my head while I was wearing boots, armored pants, armored shirt, riding gloves, and a modular helmet. Ahead of me, a car was coming at me - in my lane. I slowed to see what that driver was going to do, and after driving a block or so in the wrong lane, they turned into a beach access parking area. An air conditioning service truck backed out of a driveway, apparently without looking - didn't affect me, but a car in the other lane had to get all over their brakes.
Holiday brain. It's a thing. People get stupid when a holiday approaches. The most annoying was something I saw as I was coming back across the causeway: a guy driving a pickup with a service body left a steady stream of trash behind him as stuff flew out of the bed of the truck... cardboard, fast food bags, a couple empty beer cans... apparently he had been using the truck bed as a dumpster. No, I didn't get close enough to get a license plate or see if there was a company name on it - I sat back to not get caught in the debris being strewn about. I don't understand that part of the culture here: the thoughtless trash tossing.
My cousin called while I was out on the bike; I had my Airpods in my ears (good noise reduction) and Siri asked if I wanted to answer the phone. Everything hands-free. My cousin is what I'd politely call irreverent. I asked if he could hear me OK, and he said it was just fine. Same on my end. I told him I was out on my motorcycle, but I don't think he understood I was riding at the time. Steph called while I was out on my bicycle the other day, and she said the sound wasn't good - I guess the helmet makes the difference.
I think I will take some time off the motorcycle the next couple days. Joan went to the grocery store yesterday, so there isn't any reason we have to get out and mix it up with the holiday crowd.
4 comments:
Like you, we hunker down at home during the big holidays. It is just safer that way. Rehab and PT hurts....
Warm weather is here for a couple of days, although not that warm by your standards. We are expecting rain, cooler temps and storms over the long holiday weekend. Our only event is a Saturday evening graduation party in a park for the daughter of a Hawaiian family that we've become close with. Too bad it won't be warm and sunny for her party.
Hi Earl - nice to hear from you. Yep, we'll be cocooning. Living in a resort area, this becomes "escape time" for all those people who come pouring in... starts this weekend and won't let up until well into September. Weekends will be busier, but during the week is still plenty populated. Unfortunately, many of them get into "weekend time" regardless of the day... and think the rules of being a good neighbor only apply when they're home.
Hope the graduation party goes off without Mother Nature messing with y'all. Enjoy!
The storm held off until almost the end of the time slot. She had a good party. Photo booth, shave ice truck, great food, macadamia cookies on the tables, and about 200 people there. Music and hula dancers, including the graduate. It reminded me that if I cared about such things, this summer would be my 45th high school reunion.
It had rained earlier in the afternoon. The storm hit right about 8:30 pm and it was windy and poured hard. The front was very ominous looking and dark. We saw it coming and felt the gust front, so grabbed out hats and rain coats and headed for the car. WE got a little damp but not bad. The party moved into the indoor part of the building and carried on. But us old folks (kupuna) were partied out by then.
We often get light drizzly rain around here, but we drove home through about 30 minutes of heavy, heavy rain. I have never used the high setting on the windshield wipers before. It would not surprise me if the weather weasels reported over an inch of accumulation. But that's OK - we need the moisture.
Old Hawaiian saying: no rain, no rainbows. :-) Aloha!
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