I love riding on little country roads.  I love looking at people’s houses & barns, their gardens & trees, their porches, fences, gates.

I love the way people personalize their surroundings to reflect who they are, what they find beautiful.  The little things – like red trim on a gray barn – delight me.

I think this home-owner’s choice of a reflective material for the decorative element on his driveway gate is inspired.  In the mornings the cut-out of the State of Texas radiates silvery blues & showcases the snowy powder-puffs of clouds passing by.  In the evenings it transforms the world into glowing pinks, flaming oranges & smoldering almost-reds.

I like that when I ride by this driveway – whatever the time of day – I look like a cartoon streak of speeding ZOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM-iness.

I want to meet this neighbor of mine, someday.  I want to say thank you.  This little thing makes my days just that much better, that much more beautiful, brighter & full of happy-dance-worthy joie de vivre.

~          ~          ~          ~          ~

89 days till the San Diego Tri Challenge:  I rode the 10-ish miles to the gym, did half of a Pilates class (I was late, due to having to route around construction that sprung up overnight), swam a mile, and then did the 10-ish miles back home.  Not bad, huh?

~          ~          ~          ~          ~

I still need somebody to do the swim and/or run portion of the triathlon on my relay team for the San Diego Tri Challenge!

And I still need a sponsor – any business or organization – who’ll make a donation and/or help with travel expenses in exchange for my wearing a jersey & flying a flag with your name/brand/logo.

This will be my first triathlon since MS came-a-vistin’ to my life.  I’m raising funds & awareness for Challenged Athletes Foundation, an organization devoted to making a difference in the lives of folks with illness & disability who need our help to enjoy a more active, independent, wild-&-wonderful life.  Like this guy, JJ.

Wanna make a difference?  You could pass on my story & donation page:  email, Tweet, Facebook post – anything you can think of to spread the word would be an enormous to help to me.  And, more importantly, to CAF :0)

Here’s where you can donate to my San Diego Tri Challenge adventure.  And you may read more about my motivation for this ride & the marvelous Challenged Athletes Foundation in my previous blog post.