Daily Journal

Friday, August 05, 2005 I had several pleasant surprises yesterday. First, I was surprised, once again, by how effortless my bike riding seems to be lately. I rode to school and back, and pushed myself hard almost the entire way. There weren’t many hills on my route, but still, I felt accomplished that I was able to easily keep a speedy pace from start to finish. Second, a wonderful incident surprised me yesterday afternoon. A gang of skateboarders came rushing past me in downtown Westerly, but, just as I started to scold them under my breath, I saw them leave their boards and dash into the street to pick up scattered bottles of Poland Spring water. As I watched, I realized that a case of bottles had fallen out of a truck, and the boys were briskly helping to gather them up again. What amazed me was how quickly they had decided to help. In a flash, those skateboards had been abandoned and the boys had embarked on a generous mission. Finally, in the late afternoon, during what seemed like the height of the heat, I rode out to the beach to see some friends. I was prepared for a scorching ride, but, surprisingly, I felt much cooler almost as soon as I started pedaling. A lot of my route was shaded by tall trees, but I also think there must have been a sudden drop in temperature. As I pedaled along in the pleasant coolness, I fantasized that He who controls the temperature decided to blow in some satisfying breezes as soon as I got on the bike.