Bike Day

My all time favorite pastime as a kid was riding bikes. My dad forced me to learn in one evening when I was in kindergarten. He did not want to see me tootling around town on training wheels! From then on, I rode the neighborhood streets daily, branching out further with each grade of school. Summers during junior high and high school, I rode to the library, the drug store and even long excursion to the country with my friends. As a new mother, I rode many miles with a baby on the back, and I got my boys onto bikes as soon as possible.


This morning was busy with good things. We left early, took the bikes to Lone Jack Trail, and rode eight miles. This is the longest ride since DH’s knee surgery, and it was wonderful to be riding on a trail again. It was fairly cool to start, but by the time we were belting the bikes to the truck rack again, we were sweating. The trials to rails rides are nice, but the trees and brushy growth areas don’t allow much air to circulate.

A muffin, some errands, a quick stop at the library and then we went to the Farmer’s Market. It is a lovely place and you cannot stir the people there at first. Cars and trucks inch in the side road, trying to find a place to park in order to get the first call on the fruits and vegetables. The produce must meet certain standards to be sold there, and it is all displayed in an almost artistic manner. The Vietnamese truck farmers not only have beautiful produce, they have it washed and bundled pleasantly. Every stand makes you want to be a good vegetable eater!

After preparing both okra and bok choy for the freezer, this evening’s supper was fresh mushrooms, onions, zucchini, and yellow squash stir fried and then treated to a wash of wine to reduce a bit. The whole concoction was poured over rice noodles and served with baked chicken and sliced tomatoes. It felt good to eat healthy.