Stop and smell the roses... or something like that.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I picked up Bike Snob's book the other day. In one of the early chapters he writes, "Everything about riding a bicycle compels you towards beauty." Not to be too sentimental (okay, maybe a little; I am something of a romantic after all), but that statement really spoke to me.

I'm an impulsive person who rushes around, hurries up, doesn't want to wait for anything and so on and so on. I can't STAND those "it's the journey not the destination" types of sayings-- they make me want to slap someone! However, riding my bike really is about the journey, lol. It's about the only thing I do where I go slow, take my time, relax and appreciate what's going on around me at that very moment. It's rather Zen I guess you could say.

Anyway, here are a few pictures of some of the beautiful things I've come across while out on my bike. Today I'm putting up mostly flowers with other subjects to come later on.

Beginning of the season
Coreopsis?
Moth Mullein
Rough-fruited Cinquefoil
Beardtongue
Spiderwort
Dewberry
Multiflora Rose
Oxeye Daisy

Wild Lupine with Zabulon Skipper

With more butterflies (and maybe a few more flowers) to follow in the next day or so...

Finally!

I know, I know. I've been terrible at updating my blog lately. I've been so busy these past two weeks that I've barely had time to ride, let alone take pictures and then write about them! I actually have a backlog of photos to share, though, including some from my trip to the Statue of Liberty last weekend.New route last week-- and to my surprise I found a covered bridge! At some point I want to take some close-ups, but as you might be able to tell, it's downhill to the bridge and then an immediate uphill. I'm not really inclined to stop my momentum when it's so darn hot out. So I'm thinking it'll be about October before I do anything...

I took the picture above because I loved that hollyhock just randomly growing on the side of the road, plus it was the same color as my shirt!

My dad and my sister were down this weekend and we went for a ride on this new route. It's kind of hilly-- rolling hills-- but they did just fine. Mostly I was thinking of my dad because, well, he's my dad and a bit older than me and it was beastly hot.

Maybe someday I'll put up some pictures of me, but for now my bike will have to be my stand-in:

Oh and it wasn't until after this ride was over that we realized I was using a broken lens-- no wonder I had a hard time getting things in focus!

My dad and I also went for a ride this morning before he left to go back to New York City. We rode down for breakfast at Spill the Beans and then did a short ten mile ride around Lititz. It was so hot-- like 90 degrees at 10:30am-- that we stopped many, many times for rest and some water. But I'm excited about how much my dad likes bicycling! It gives us something fun to do when he's here for visit (other than sitting around talking, of course).

I have a bunch of flower and butterfly pictures from the rides with my family, and hopefully I'll get them sorted and identified soon! Until then, here's another way to get around Lancaster County: