There isn’t a day this week that is going to be “normal.” Started the day driving the car to bring the last of the baggage from Bismarck back to the office and get ready to take it into the shop (air conditioning isn’t working). So halfway through the morning I headed out and wound up at home which gave me the perfect opportunity to ride the bike back up to work on this gorgeous day. No backpack, no cargo, no extra layers of clothes – just me and the bike. (Okay, I’m still enough of a newbie to not even think of getting on the bike without a helmet, jacket, boots, and gloves.)

Took the route through town again. This is starting to get easier. Might have to remove the windshield one of these days. It’s right where it should be, which means I have to sit up straight to see over the top of it. Sometimes I feel it gets in the way of my spotting the potholes. And I wore contacts while riding for the first time today. Won’t get into the whole contact saga, but I’m glad (and a little surprised) that it looks like they’re going to work out. They’re just going to work a whole lot better with the helmet and bike than the glasses did.

Looking forward to the ride home. I took the long way home yesterday, more because I wanted to avoid traffic than because I wanted to enjoy the ride. Not sure what the plan is for this afternoon. Might depend on the situation with the car. But it really is nice out there right now and a joyride sounds mighty tempting.

Odometer: 315 miles