I had a super long day at work, including a frustrating last hour and a half–it’s hard to advise students who haven’t been given the space to develop discernible interests–and the last thing I had the energy for was a bicycle ride. I had some errands I had to do, though, and they were all within a 2 mile radius, so there I was, on the bike–it’s just faster that way. Once I was riding, I just wanted to keep going, so I headed east on 32nd (I think) until I hit Lake Montebello. I have lived here for almost a year, but this was my first spin around that lake, which is really a travesty. The bike and ped lanes are separate, and both were busy with folks enjoying the slightly cooler but still hot weather. As I zipped around I passed dogs, trikes, spandex-clad racers, scooter kids, speed walking groups, kids in wagons, and all sorts of people enjoying the public space in all sorts of ways. Go ahead, call me a socialist, but I just love parks, and I want sacks and sacks of cash from the coffers funded by our social wage heading straight into parks. After I snapped this picture of the sky stretching out over the lake, I finished my ride around and headed back home. I had a nice chat with one of those spandex riders as we were both stopped at a red light (yes, some of us stop at red lights). He noticed my tattoo and told me he wants one too, down his calf muscle, you know, to intimidate people. Oh, in moments like these, I asked. Nah, he said–on race day. Yeah, that’s what I meant. I dropped back, he sped up, and we went our separate ways. So many ways to ride a bike, but always riding, and it’s always a pleasure.