My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
Walked to a coffeehouse last week to meet a friend for a cup of coffee and their breakfast enchiladas. 🙂 The temperature was somewhere between 25 and 30 degrees (F). I am still surprised how many people in Fort Collins ride bicycles in all sorts of weather. They just gear up for whatever nature brings on. I’m actually envious of their commitment to riding.
“Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.”
Pema Chödrön
It’s interesting how the simplest thing can catch my attention.
Seems the ride of choice in retirement communities isn’t a Lincoln or a Cadillac. It’s a golf cart. If the garage door is open you will see a nice car sitting next to a golf cart. The speed limit in the retirement community is 25 except on the four main roads, which is 40. Most people drive under the 25 mph because they are in their golf carts. Almost every morning on my walk I encounter someone heading for their tee-time, a tennis match, Bocce ball game, Pickle-ball game or meet someone for coffee. And, a smile crosses my face when I see the unusual amount of dogs sitting on the passenger seat. 🙂
And, some of these carts are pretty tricked out. If you look at this one it is not even setup for golfing as there is no place for golf clubs. This baby is for the streets.
I see this a lot as I await the bus. However, there is something missing in this scene that the image cannot convey, the sound. The noise pollution from traffic is quite loud with a variety of sounds, we just seldom hear them while in our cars. Sit at a bus stop and you will understand how deafening it can be. You will hear tires on the pavement, cars accelerating, squealing fan belts, loud mufflers, loud stereos, sirens, honking and an occasional swearword.
While waiting at the bus stop I met a woman who has not had a car for the past 15 months. Guessing we are about the same age as she bought one of the senior yearly passes. She takes the bus to and from work. She has a pull cart she uses on the bus for grocery shopping. She also does some shopping online, including groceries. She also told me of a service she uses called UBER. There are places in town where it may require changing buses to your destination as many as three times. The drivers are locals who sign up to drive people to locations using their own vehicles. It uses a free app to get a driver. So, this is an interesting concept. I am also intrigued in maybe being a driver.
I’ve been walking by this flat tire for weeks and it’s still not fixed. Procrastination.
As I mentioned I was off line for a few days as I traveled with my sister to the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandle area for a funeral. We knew there would a storm moving through Colorado on Monday but felt it would be okay to travel. We headed home on Tuesday morning thinking we would be just fine. As you can see we discovered some very high winds and blowing, drifting snow once we entered into the southeast corner of Colorado. These conditions lasted for about a hundred miles then we had much better roads and sunny weather to travel in. We just followed two semi trucks, figuring they knew what was ahead. The Fort Collins area receive 12 inches of snow. And, of course along with that comes the colder temperatures.
Yesterday morning on my walk to coffee I noticed this man riding his bicycle. That’s not anything unusual especially in a college town. What was unusual is the temperature was 1 degree. I’m layered and shivering while he pedals away. I prefer warmer riding weather. Different strokes for different folks. Stay warm.
