Banjos!

Another week of self-isolating and social distancing has come and gone. It’s been a week of editing (some for pay, some for fun). It’s been a week of watching tutorials and learning new things. And it’s been a week of going grocery shopping at 7:00 AM to avoid the lineups.

Nice day for a ride.
(or ride BACK, anyway)

On the upside, I got out on the bike the other day … according to the time stamp on the photos, it was Wednesday – again, not that it matters. What matters is that it was a glorious ride. Correction: It was a glorious ride BACK. My typical strategy when I’m limited to roundtrip rides is to head out into the wind for some arbitrary amount of time so that the return trip will come with a tailwind. And I find it’s always better to end with a tailwind. On strong wind days (like Wednesday), the arbitrary time heading into the wind can be more than a little unpleasant. However, it’s more mentally manageable (oooh, alliteration) with the knowledge that the ride back will be wind aided. That strategy played out beautifully in this instance.

As usual when I head out on such rides, I really had no idea where I was going to go. Or for how long. In hindsight, I probably should’ve taken a water bottle with me. Anyway, once I determined the general direction of the wind, I turned my bike into it and kept pedalling. For about 25 km. Much of which was uphill. And all of it into a pretty stiff headwind. And it took about 90 minutes. Then I found myself in Bamberg. No, I’m pretty sure I had never been to Bamberg before. But that’s where I was and that’s where the ride back began. Much of which was downhill. Most of it aided by a pretty stiff tailwind. It took about 50 minutes. And was wonderful.

Somewhere near Bamberg

As a bonus, it was a beautifully sunny day to be out on my bike. Side note: Each time I head out on my winter/beater bike these days I think it will be its last ride of the season. It is April after all. But then the weather turns cold and miserable again. I genuinely thought Wednesday’s ride would be the last beater-ride of the season. But I remain unconvinced. For the record, I don’t mean anything derogatory when I refer to my beater bike. In fact (and much to my surprise), I’ve really started to get attached to said beater bike. I mean, I still prefer riding my touring road bike but my beater bike has served me VERY well this winter. Durable. Reliable. And rugged enough to handle all the snow, ice, and whatever else winter threw at it. Not to mention a pandemic.

Rundown garage? Or dream home?

Oh, and while I was out on Wednesday I pedalled past my dream home. Well, one of them. I mean, I really don’t have thoughts of a grand dream home and home ownership in general is in itself a distant dream at best (barring some windfall sometime soon). However, I have many thoughts of what I’d like. Of course, not all of them are consistent with one another. For instance, as I pedalled past what appeared to be an old battered garage, it made me think of one of my (many) dream home fantasies. I love the idea of having a place like the garage pictured here that looks somewhat rundown on the outside but inside would be comfortably furnished with all the comforts of home. Maybe it would be more of a man cave. Or a great place to host cycle tourists passing through. Either way, I love the idea. And, I’m not entirely sure that’s not what’s actually going on with this particular place (well, probably not the part about cycle tourists). The house at the other end of this long driveway could accurately be described as a mansion. And given the proximity from said mansion, this “garage” seemed more than a little out of place if taken at face value. Yes, these are the things I think about when I’m out pedalling.

Speaking of thinking, the general thinking is that my previous social distancing video was a bit on the dark side. And, well … I certainly can’t disagree with that. In my defence, it can seem a bit eerie out there with some of the localized emptiness. And there are some pretty great visuals to observe during these unique times. Then again, I don’t think it’s as eerie as the video would suggest. Video is funny that way. Regardless, I’m confident this new video won’t garner the same reaction. Why? Banjos! That’s right, banjos. And as Steve Martin once said, “You just can’t sing a depressing song when you’re playing the banjo.” Although, the characters in “Deliverance” might not share the same fondness for the instrument.

So, the upside is this video is FAR more upbeat than my previous post. The downside? Well … I think the downside will be pretty obvious if you watch the video. For what it’s worth, perhaps what I’ve learned most from these videos is that I’m LONG overdue for a shave and a haircut. I mean, I look like I’m in travel-beard mode … but without the travel.

And as I mentioned in my previous post, there are actually two versions of this video. The first version had to be a bit condensed to meet the one-minute limitation on Instagram (Yes, technically there are ways to post longer videos but generally I think one minute forces a more selective edit. Usually for the better.) Anyway, this is the extended version. Or perhaps this is the original and the Instagram version is the condensed version. Either way, this is the longer of the two versions.

Disclaimer: My videos typically tend to be pretty light-hearted (well, minus the aforementioned apocalypse video); however, this one could be deemed a bit preachy. Personally, I think it’s in a light-hearted way but a bit preachy nonetheless. And that’s because I strongly believe the message is important and shouldn’t be overlooked. And when it’s all said and done I hope (maybe partially because of this video) that you’ll think more about and have a greater appreciation for chocolate covered almonds. Seriously. How they’re not a food group is beyond me. Here’s the video:

And yes, many chocolate covered almonds were consumed in the making of this video.

MANY.