Black and White

There are a few ambitious events coming up on my calendar, motivating me to undertake some longer rides. The weather's warming up, so I planned to get an early start and head for the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.

I failed at the “early start” bit. I did make it to the Bay, where it wasn't hard to find a bench to enjoy my sandwich. (They were all unoccupied.)

One of these things is not like the others ... There is a little surprise in this photo of white pelicans—and it's not their black-fringed wings. Paddling along with this little flock was a lone, black cormarant. Hard to see at this resolution and against the deep blue water—in front of the second pelican from the left. They all seemed content with this status quo.

There weren't many birds to see today; the egrets have flown their nests, but I did see at least one juvenile hunting in the shallows, paired with an adult.

I basked in the breeze that was chopping up the water, cooling me nicely; at the same time, knowing that the longer I lingered, the hotter my trip home would be.

The route I chose (to be more direct, and to avoid heavy traffic heading for the coast) turned out to be well-shaded. [Bonus!] With a slight breeze, it wasn't miserably hot. Maybe, even, comfortable.

During the week, I'd happily discovered that I could return to my regular after-work route. [Two weeks prior, roadwork had ground the pavement down to a base layer and I found myself choking on dust churned up by passing vehicles.] With those three trips and today's 49+ miles, I closed out the week with 110 miles and 2,060 feet of climbing. Now, to keep that up ...

Next week's forecast is not encouraging (multiple days where much of the Bay Area will top 100°F).