But 8 am this morning, I was ready to ride. Only four blocks from home I spotted this very nice Rat Rodded Pickup. If you're not familiar with the term, it implies satin black paint, primitive appearance, whitewall tires, the aura of "not trying to look good" and - well, look at the truck:
Clearly a student at the local high school, based on its location, and well done too. I swung around the corner to get off the main drag and this was directly in my view! Is there no end to Mustang Convertibles in San Diego? In this case, I have to disagree with his choice of wheels. Those black rims do nothing for the car's appearance, other than make it look like he (or she) has never cleaned off any brake dust.
On down the road - I went down an extremely steep hill - so steep I was afraid either my hand grip would be insufficient to stop or that I would go over the handlebars. A girl going down the sidewalk on foot had the same problem - she couldn't walk, she had to run clumsily, trying not to go too fast.
I took some time to stop and smell the nasturtiums. These are a common weed in our neighborhood but beautiful nevertheless. And edible too. They complement my orange watch and shirt.
Eventually, as is always the case in my neighborhood, I had to go uphill again. I chose to tackle a big hill straight on up in my 2nd of 18 gears. I admit there was some gasping a bit at the top but all this riding over the past few months has really improved my fitness.
We almost bought a house on this corner about 15 years ago. I was advised against it by my father-in-law, who protested that the several hundred thousand dollar increase in value over our existing place. "Why should you pay property taxes for the rest of your stay here, just for the view?" he said, "why not just drive over there, sit in your car and look at the view for free, then go out for an expensive dinner on the savings?" I took his advice; as a result we don't live there but we do have much more money in the bank.
