All About the Benjamins, Baby!
22/07/19 11:22
Not really. I couldn't get that phrase out of my head this morning while biking. I wanted to use it in my title for the blog today but need to distance myself from the slur that it is presumed to be. It has a nice ring to it but is terribly antisemitic and should be regarded as such for all those interested in the politics of expression.
As it relates to biking, at least for today anyway, it was all about the hills. But "all about the hills" doesn't have nearly the ring that "all about the Benjamins" does so we'll go with the first of the two phrases that rolls off the tongue most easily.
I've been taking a back roads route while biking these past couple of days because of the incessant heat and the need to avoid a constant and relentless overhead sun. The route is mostly in the shade and getting out from beneath the sun during the one hour plus ride is and continues to be an attractive alternative on those especially hot and cloudless days.
Not to digress but I like nothing better than cracking the window before bedtime and putting the fan on a two hour timer so it brings in the cooler night air but doesn't keep me awake all night. That doesn't get the job done when overnight temperatures never get below 80. Stifling is stifling.
I think the whole heat index thing that incorporates humidity and all the rest has been oppressive and unhealthy for those with respiratory challenges, etc. Running the air conditioner all night long doesn't work either if for no other reason than it's too damn noisy.
But back to the back roads. I'm of the mind, getting out from beneath the sun aside, that the back roads route provides a better workout by and large. There are more hills and that makes for more of an effort and that makes for a better workout.
Riding on Ocean Boulevard is great too and you can't beat the inspiration that you get from seeing the ocean at every turn in the roadway. It's enough to give you that extra spring in your step, that extra bit of adrenalin that morphs into endorphins the further and the harder you ride, and your acquired taste for the the salt infused air along the shoreline makes you wonder if there isn't some truth to the rumors of our humble origins having begun in the world's great oceans.
So when I had to make a choice today about taking the back roads or not taking the back roads, I opted for the more difficult route which put me squarely on the back roads once again. It's all about the back roads, baby! And then, halfway through the ride where I had a chance to cut back to Ocean Boulevard for my return trip, I did just that. Had it been sunny in the least, I would have stayed the course.
As I rode along the Boulevard I had a chance to reconsider my thoughts when it comes to getting more of a benefit on the back roads. Yes, the hills are a good thing. Yes, even the downhill portions of those winding backroads are fun and challenging in their own way, but riding oceanside is and can be challenging too. Maybe it's not all about either the Benjamins or the back roads. Maybe it's all about wind speed and direction.
With a stiff wind at my back, I almost don't have to pedal the bike to move along at a decent clip. Riding into a stiff wind is a horse of an entirely different color. Maybe not having to exert myself too much on at least one leg of my ride is not optimal. Here I am reconsidering it all again on the fly.
On the back roads, both ways are equalling challenging. So, that's different. There is less of a chance I'll cross paths with immovable objects if I take the back roads too. That goes for both human and non-human traffic. And, of course, chances of running into something or somebody on Ocean Boulevard are infinitely greater during the crazy and chaotic summer months.
Chances of something running into me are pretty good too while on the Boulevard. Teenagers texting while behind the wheel, children running ahead of their parents on or off the crosswalk with their boogey boards in a rush to get to the beach, senior citizens whose medication leaves them woozy and unfocused while driving in and around town, all real dangers and worthy of a cyclists attention.
People have even thrown things at me while riding for chrissakes so we can't discount that possibility. Quite honestly, anything is possible on the Boulevard. Maybe less so on the back roads. And riding alone on the back roads is one thing. Riding on the back roads with Nancy is quite another.
Stories abound of women disappearing without a trace on remote stretches of highway only to be discovered years later having met a gruesome end at the hands of a serial killer or other. As such, I never allow myself to take my eyes off of her while riding on the back roads. It is a vigilance that can be distracting in and of itself but a necessary vigilance nonetheless. Nothing gets left to chance on the road less travelled. Nothing at all.
As it relates to biking, at least for today anyway, it was all about the hills. But "all about the hills" doesn't have nearly the ring that "all about the Benjamins" does so we'll go with the first of the two phrases that rolls off the tongue most easily.
I've been taking a back roads route while biking these past couple of days because of the incessant heat and the need to avoid a constant and relentless overhead sun. The route is mostly in the shade and getting out from beneath the sun during the one hour plus ride is and continues to be an attractive alternative on those especially hot and cloudless days.
Not to digress but I like nothing better than cracking the window before bedtime and putting the fan on a two hour timer so it brings in the cooler night air but doesn't keep me awake all night. That doesn't get the job done when overnight temperatures never get below 80. Stifling is stifling.
I think the whole heat index thing that incorporates humidity and all the rest has been oppressive and unhealthy for those with respiratory challenges, etc. Running the air conditioner all night long doesn't work either if for no other reason than it's too damn noisy.
But back to the back roads. I'm of the mind, getting out from beneath the sun aside, that the back roads route provides a better workout by and large. There are more hills and that makes for more of an effort and that makes for a better workout.
Riding on Ocean Boulevard is great too and you can't beat the inspiration that you get from seeing the ocean at every turn in the roadway. It's enough to give you that extra spring in your step, that extra bit of adrenalin that morphs into endorphins the further and the harder you ride, and your acquired taste for the the salt infused air along the shoreline makes you wonder if there isn't some truth to the rumors of our humble origins having begun in the world's great oceans.
So when I had to make a choice today about taking the back roads or not taking the back roads, I opted for the more difficult route which put me squarely on the back roads once again. It's all about the back roads, baby! And then, halfway through the ride where I had a chance to cut back to Ocean Boulevard for my return trip, I did just that. Had it been sunny in the least, I would have stayed the course.
As I rode along the Boulevard I had a chance to reconsider my thoughts when it comes to getting more of a benefit on the back roads. Yes, the hills are a good thing. Yes, even the downhill portions of those winding backroads are fun and challenging in their own way, but riding oceanside is and can be challenging too. Maybe it's not all about either the Benjamins or the back roads. Maybe it's all about wind speed and direction.
With a stiff wind at my back, I almost don't have to pedal the bike to move along at a decent clip. Riding into a stiff wind is a horse of an entirely different color. Maybe not having to exert myself too much on at least one leg of my ride is not optimal. Here I am reconsidering it all again on the fly.
On the back roads, both ways are equalling challenging. So, that's different. There is less of a chance I'll cross paths with immovable objects if I take the back roads too. That goes for both human and non-human traffic. And, of course, chances of running into something or somebody on Ocean Boulevard are infinitely greater during the crazy and chaotic summer months.
Chances of something running into me are pretty good too while on the Boulevard. Teenagers texting while behind the wheel, children running ahead of their parents on or off the crosswalk with their boogey boards in a rush to get to the beach, senior citizens whose medication leaves them woozy and unfocused while driving in and around town, all real dangers and worthy of a cyclists attention.
People have even thrown things at me while riding for chrissakes so we can't discount that possibility. Quite honestly, anything is possible on the Boulevard. Maybe less so on the back roads. And riding alone on the back roads is one thing. Riding on the back roads with Nancy is quite another.
Stories abound of women disappearing without a trace on remote stretches of highway only to be discovered years later having met a gruesome end at the hands of a serial killer or other. As such, I never allow myself to take my eyes off of her while riding on the back roads. It is a vigilance that can be distracting in and of itself but a necessary vigilance nonetheless. Nothing gets left to chance on the road less travelled. Nothing at all.