The world as seen at 5:00 a.m. or thereabouts is often dramatically different than what one might observe later in the day after the sun has come out. As you know, the early morning hours often find me on the road on my trusty Canondale bike. Things are different in the wee hours. The world is still at peace and I find it a wonderful time to be alone with my thoughts.

There are few cars on the road and with the exception of one “crazy” newspaper delivery guy (that has seemingly repeatedly tried to run me down, consistently driving on the wrong side of the road with his radio cranked to an unbelievable level on some Spanish music station) the few cars on the road seem to be driven by sane people. Something you can’t say about drivers later in the day.

It seems surprising how much wildlife (and by this I mean animals – the other kind of wildlife is usually out after dark in the evening) is out and about at this time. I regularly encounter deer, ‘possums, coyotes (not the Mexican kind) and the ubiquitous skunk. The deer get just as confused with a bicycle light as they do with a car’s headlights. I have had a number of close calls when deer have dramatically reversed course out of confusion at just the wrong moment. The ‘possums are just fat and slow. The coyotes want nothing to do with me but the skunks, watch out for the skunks!

That “dead skunk lying in the middle of the road stinking to high heaven” is a regular occurrence. A skunk running down the road just as you sail around the corner on your bike isn’t that uncommon either. When that old skunk’s tail is up and bristling, watch out!

So far, in spite of numerous close calls I have managed to avoid disaster. Like this morning. I was riding up the hill just past the Rose Bowl when I noticed something unusual off to the side of the road in the shadows. I foolishly slowed to get a better look and guess what? A highly agitated skunk with his tail up was looking very ready to unleash his defense systems. I’m not sure how I avoided the impending disaster, but I did (Logan might have loved it if I hadn’t). In any event, that probably got my heart beating faster than any of the hills on my ride. Whew!! Bullet dodged!

I hope everyone’s well out there. Stay in touch.

Sean has correctly thrown down the gauntlet and challenged some of us to be better with our blogging. I am responding to the challenge!

It often seems our lives are so common there isn’t much to share. That said, when I ponder it, I realize perhaps things aren’t so routine at all. In considering blog topics I thought you might be interested in my abduction by aliens over the weekend, but no, here in LA that is just too common. It happens up Big Tujunga Canyon all the time. Since I ride my bike there regularly it is bound to happen to me occasionally as well. One needs to take it in stride!

I have been in San Francisco that last two days (there seem to be a lot of aliens roaming the streets there, for sure, for sure!). The weather was nice and I got done what needed to be done so that was a success.

This morning I hopped on my bike at 5:00 a.m. for my usual ride and went sailing down the street. - Note that is very dark at 5:00 a.m... - As I flew around the corner off La Crescenta to Pine Cone my light disappeared! I looked down and there it was pointing straight at the ground and hanging by is battery cable. I stopped looked at the light, hooked it back on its mount and set off once more. Lo and behold! As I whistled past Two Strike Park the light fell off once again and my world went dark. This time I astutely assessed that there was a problem. I beat a hasty retreat to the garage and managed a quick repair, salvaging my ride for the most part. Not that there is any point to this story other than stuff happens.

Mom and I are headed to Mammoth this weekend. The mountain actually received a foot of snow the other day so we will squeeze one last trip out of the season. We’ll share some pictures next week (don’t you just love pictures of Mom, Dad and the dog at play?)

Be good and blog on!!