Trophy Hunt

The Poet Laureate ran off to St. Louis on poetic business, and I found myself with what used to be a normal state of affairs on a Thursday night: had a bike, no particular place to go.

Which never used to bother me. I was a real group ride junkie, even to the point of riding rides I couldn't keep up with. I'd ride the route, but nobody who hadn't seen me getting ready at the beginning would know I was 'with' the Blue Moose or the Brewery group.



Now that I've had a taste of commuting and touring, I found I wanted a destination. I could have done the Brookside ride if I'd gotten out of the office in a more timely manner, and at least that's a group I can keep up with.

Maybe it's the change in perception now that I've found something useful to do with my bike, but riding the Blue Moose route when I can't keep up with the pack seems like framing a picture of an attractive stranger and putting it on my desk as if she were my girlfriend or something.



So anyway, to give my solo ride a destination, I made it a safari: All these things I see en route that I want to stop and take a picture of but don't, why not go looking for them?

They turn out to be pretty hard to find on purpose. They're like popcorn in the kettle if you're running late and really too hungry to not stop for breakfast. But go out seeking to introduce your camera to them and they're harder to find than Hillary Clinton's scruples or Muammar Gaddafi's legitimacy.

If I hadn't spent too much time at the Broadway Cafe after shooting Randall's hearse as a trophy, I bet I could have found one or two more...