REI Outfitting Shake-down Ride

Photos
Left: Norton's Pond on the Air Line Trail
Right: The Salmon River, just up from the covered bridge in East Hampton.


Checking out the equipment
Early this morning I donned one of my new shirts, a pair of new socks, my new Keen bike riding shoes (no, I did not forget my riding shorts!) and headed off for a cool morning’s ride.

I could not be happier with the choices I made yesterday at REI. The shoes make pedaling so much easier. I felt like my stroke was more firm and stronger. I didn’t fatigue mid-way through the ride and my feet stayed cool. Thanks to the new socks, my feet stayed dry which had to help in keeping them cool. When I came home I didn’t have to peel them off my feet. The shirt was very cool riding. When I would stop it did cling to my sweaty skin, but once I set off again it dried almost instantly and stayed that way.

After my shower I washed out shirt, socks and shorts and hung them to dry in the laundry room. I want to see how dry everything is in 10 hours. That will be important on the trip because I don’t think packing damp clothes will be a good thing. I’m thinking of getting a mesh laundry bag to bungee to the rear pack so any clothes needing more drying can do so.

I can see myself as the “bag lady” of the Erie Canal again!

Because of the success of the socks and shirts, I can now downsize the amount of clothing I bring. Anything to lighten the load is good! ☺☺

A crying crow
I started my ride from a parking lot off Buckland Road and while I was taking my bike off the rack, I could hear what sounded like a bird in distress. I looked around and saw a lone crow in the tree making the most pitiful sounds. In no time there were five other crows swooping in. A couple of them seemed to be attending to the first one…nudging it with their beaks. They were all making quite a ruckus. Soon they all flew away.

So what happened? Did everybody go away and leave the baby home alone? The baby cried and everybody came back? Whatever happened, these birds were communicating with each other and I wish I understood what they were saying.