Thursday, August 31

Friends, it seems the previous post's picture of a beaver has caused an uproar. I did not intend to pass this rodent off as anything but an image borrowed from the web. I only caught a fleeting glimpse of an actual beaver as it waddled out of the underbrush and slipped into the lake - although saying "slipped into the lake" is giving the creature more credit that it deserves, cause what really happened is that the thing's rump must have been pretty dry, cause although it was trying to get under the water quickly, it definitely had problems trying to submerge its butt. It swam about 12 yards with just it's hind quarters visible.

Anyway, the rigors of camping definitely have taken their toll. I decided I needed a day off the bike and on the Vespa.

Wednesday, August 30

Took a vacation to the Maine woods. Paddled alot. Saw beavers. Didn't ride the bicycle. Now I'm back, and riding the bicylce.

Tuesday, August 15

It was a real wet ride this morning as you can see by the photos. I haven't been on the bike for almost a week and a half, so this morning's weather was a rather rude re-introduction to the commute.

Tuesday, August 1

One of the joys of plein-air commuting is the various sights, sounds, and smells that the cyclist encounters. Today, as I entered into the smooth flow of traffic on Beacon Street on this 90+ degree day, I caught a whiff of something quite foul, and the fetid odor did not diminish as I rode on. Then I noticed that there was a trail of some kind of liquid leading all the way down the center of the right lane on Beacon Street (see photo). I determined that the scent had to be coming from the liquid, and that, most likely, some kind of garbage truck was leaking the maloderous muck as it went about its rounds. It was quite pungent, and several times I was forced by traffic to ride through it. As I came down into Kenmore Square, the stench increased. Finally, outside the Square, I laid eyes (and nose) on the culprit - a big rusty dumpster-on-a-truck contraption. I held my breath and pedaled on by.