Chai Tea and Lemon Cake

11/29/11 #237 26miles

Around noon it looked like the rain would blow through, although the weather cells were unusually moving in a south-to-north direction. At 1pm I got out on the bike under a decidedly fugly sky, it was scud-running weather — low ceilings, high gusty winds, no rain but the roads were wet. Good news: 58F. As is often the case, the hardest thing about the ride is the conation, the act of choosing on your own volition to get out there and get on with Rule 5.

I rode to my LBS, world famous Ambridge Bike Shop, to do some shopping and got to wish Head Sherpa Gary B. a Merry Christmas. Then I continued south to the Sewickley Starbucks, facing a headwind but pleased to know I'd have a tailwind on the return.

I stopped at Starbucks, bought a chai tea and lemon cake, several packets of honey went into the jersey pocket, and I sniffed the wifi and read the NYTimes. Read a fascinating article on the reliability of witness testimony due to the nature of human memory. Also enjoyed a profile of Steven Pinker, and a sidebar collection of some Pinkerisms.

One sign that you're spending too much time in coffee shops is when you begin to recognize the regulars to the point of avoiding the onerous ones. Today was the third time I saw one rather talkative gentlemen in the Starbucks, we both look for the padded armchairs, he's prone to recommending authors and in a way I felt that he and I were like Harold Krenshaw and Mr. Monk at their therapist's office.



Came out of the Starbucks and was surprised at how much the weather had improved. Sunny skies, the wind had died (no tailwind on the ride home), it was very nice.

On the second leg I realized how good it was for me to get out on the bike even in the gloomy windy conditions. It's always a good day to ride the bike, sometimes I forget that.

In cycling news:

• Shimano goes to 11-speeds
• Ivan Basso has confirmed he will race both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France for the 2012 season.
• Jan Ullrich considers confessing to doping