30DOB - Day 1

I dressed down this morning. The Internet said it was 43 degrees outside and that it would be toasty during my ride home after work. So no wool socks. No pants. No fleece pullover. For warmth I wore a cap and a pair of lightweight running gloves. 

I took the long way in via the Children of the Sun Trail, taking Freya to Regal, Regal to Euclid and back to Freya, finishing off with Upriver Drive and the Centennial Trail. I spotted some feral chickens on Regal. Okay, maybe they were just loose, but they looked fierce. 

I forgot about the construction on Francis but I was able to make it across without a problem. Maybe I got there ahead of the crews. Last week it was pretty busy and I had to use Centerline to get across Francis on the way home. I'll probably do the same today. On the plus side, that adds a little more distance to my ride.  

While on Upriver Drive, I spotted a runner going in the opposite direction (into the sun). I thought it would be a great shot for the OTM Facebook page but I wasn't sure of the time since I was on my way to work. I had forgotten to put my watch on so I did what kids do these days when you ask them the time. I pulled out my smartphone. Unfortunately, my running gloves are soft and fuzzy so they don't hold onto slick objects very well. My phone slipped out of my half-frozen fingers and skittered onto the pavement at about 15 mph, cracking the screen. That's not exactly how I planned it. The phone still worked and I did have time to chat with the runner so I turned around and caught up with him. Even though he was wearing earbuds and presumably listening to some sort of motivational music, he could tell I was talking to him. He looked at me like I was an alien creature of some sort, turned his head forward, and ignored me from then on.

My morning is off to a good start.

Turning back around, I followed the Centennial Trail into town. I found another runner and he was more than happy to be made Internet famous on the OTM Facebook page, improving upon my morning but not helping my smartphone any. 


A raucous flock of seagulls were hanging out in Riverfront Park by the giant red wagon and a couple flew over me while I rolled by. Suddenly, some large white blobs plopped on the asphalt directly in front of me. I've always heard people say bad things happen in threes. Had I been going a little faster the seagull crap shower would have capped off the cracked screen and isolationist runner. Arriving at work, my fingers and toes were feeling the cold.  

Road find!

After work, the sun was shining brightly and I worked up a good sweat on the trip home. It was slow going at first because Riverfront Park was teeming with people, which is a good thing. I found a screwdriver on Regal and tossed it in my pannier. Now I have something to protect myself from fierce-looking feral chickens.