Loves and Hates

My list of loves and hates has had to be updated with this new cycle touring experience.

New loves:

Slowly passing scenery

Easy mobility in towns and cities

Different perspectives from a bicycle

Sweet smells in the breeze (I feel like a dog with his nose in the wind)

Solitude on back roads

Well paved roads

Busy roads with wide gradients

Well marked road signs

Bicycle conscious drivers (please become one if you are not)

Sicilian people (very generous and curious)

Granita

Dips in the Mediterranean

Detailed maps

Large food portions

Hearty Sicilian food

Shots of espresso with sugar.

The journey and the destination

New hates:

Headwinds

Headwinds on inclines

Side winds on declines

Buses & trucks.

Honkers right behind me.

Bugs (my face is now the windscreen they are squished against)

Road kill*

Rotting road kill (smell stays in the nose for too long)

Roadside garbage and those who toss it.

Saddle sores

Shadowed roads with potholes and bumps.

*so far I've seen dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, mice, rats, hedgehogs, foxes, lizards, and other unidentifiable shapes.

08/01/2014