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[Image]The past few days have been discouraging on a number of fronts, and my oft-chosen pick-me-up of a bike ride has been robbed of its comforting power by the oppressive heat and humidity. I put off a round of errands on the Yuba until the evening, hoping for better. My hopes of escaping some of the days discomfort were a limited success at best. A dinner invitation from a friend provided the welcome distraction of tasty food and a frosty beer. The heat finally broke somewhat as night fell and I headed homeward. After a few blocks, I realized I was beginning to feel better. The cooler night air and uncrowded streets were unraveling the knots of stress that had tethered me down for days. This was too good to pass up. I veered off course and arbitrarily decided to ride in five towns before returning home.

I had already started in Hartford and made my way to West Hartford. I meandered southward through the side streets of Elmwood into Newington, turning off to visit the Iwo Jima Memorial and a bit of New Britain. From there it was south and then eastward through Newington Center to Wethersfield, where I followed Ridge Road back up to the Hartford line, taking Fairfield Ave and a scenic cut through the Trinity College campus before returning home. It was after midnight by then, and I was tired and contented.

[Image]The flashing LED headlight on my bike exists as a visibility beacon for others rather than actually enabling me to navigate well in the dark, so my route was limited to more well-lit thoroughfares. I did see a number of places that I would like to explore sometime during daylight hours. I would like to get a brighter headlight one of these days. They can cost hundreds of dollars, but I think I could legitimately write off such a purchase as a mental health care expenditure.

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