No Pancho, but Lefty

It seems that the Bonelli chapter of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) has been actively increasing their presence in the park. I rode past their unofficial bulletin board this afternoon to find a couple messages scrawled along the top rail. In the current political climate which has emboldened adherents of the far right, profiteers before people, and racial and ethnic bigots, it should not come as a surprise that proponents of the left side should become more active as well, maybe even in response. Just how far will the polarization go?

Anyway, and speaking otherly (hmm, google says that is not a real word, I was sure it was) about polarization there was a time, those dedicated roadie years - when I never rode in the afternoon - it was an unspoken rule among, at least, a few of us. Though I don't recall reading any such prohibition in the Rules suggesting, maybe that it was less widespread than I imagined, it is something that has stuck with me. Morning road rides, okay. Evening or night-time road rides, okay. Afternoon road rides, never. Not so with the mountain bike, anytime of day is fine. That is a good thing, especially this time of year, since the lighting is brilliant, bringing out those deep, lively colors in photos - not so many reds, but a heck of a lot of yellows, and a few pinko tinges (oof, that one was a stretch) in the distance. 

Anyway, and speaking of lively, the cormorants (I guess they are cormorants rather than loons since they don't make looney sounds) fill the trees on a late Friday afternoon. I never realized that before. They all make this strange clacking sound with their beaks as a warning, and another croaking sound deep down in their long throats when they become agitated by a passing rider, or when one of their fellow travelers flies in to roost nearby.

Anyway, and speaking of Friday afternoons, that means it is the verge of another weekend, and what a lot of rides and races there are over the next two days. Enjoy it all.