Will ride for ice cream

Between work, family obligations and lousy weather this spring, the opportunities to just go for a ride have been almost non-existent. And since riding to work would involve putt-putting down the hallway from the kitchen to the office (having done it once, the practice is now frowned upon by the spousal unit), the bike has been pretty much sitting in the garage, all polished up, with nowhere to go for weeks it seems.
Well yesterday the stars and the moon all aligned. It was a beautiful day. My work was all caught up. The chores were more or less complete. And I had a couple of free hours before dinner. Just enough time for an ice cream.
Pakenham is a small community on the shores of the Mississippi River here in Eastern Ontario. (Yup, we have one too.) Population is probably in the 3-digit range, with a few shops, a bank, a couple of restaurants, a furniture and butchery (go left for sofas, right for steaks), and a great ice cream stand. Oh yeah, and a “world famous” 5-span stone bridge dating back 100 years or so. Very picturesque.
It’s also 30 kilometres away which makes it the perfect destination for a nice, short, just-to-get-away ride.
So it was that I found myself heading down the Waba Road, going way too fast, in anticipation of that Pralines ‘N Cream cone. And nothing happened! The road was clear, there was no traffic, and I and the bike felt like one. Perfection!
Stopped at Scoops for my ice cream (mmmm, delicious), picked up a couple of packages of extra hot pepperettes at the butchery (furniture store), gassed up and headed home. The long way. With a big fat-assed grin spread across my face.
That’s what it’s all about.