The big event of the week was my daughter’s graduation from the University of Connecticut School of Law. We drove to Connecticut, picked up my mother- and sister-in-law at the airport, did a bunch of tourist stuff, ate way too much, attended the graduation ceremony, then drove back. As you might surmise, I took five days off from riding.

The ceremony was well paced and the speeches were mostly interesting and entertaining. I think I’ve seen my daughter graduate five times (at least) now. I, myself, only managed three graduations.

During various car trips we were nearly crushed by two trucks, one during an illegal (theirs not ours) lane change and the other in a merge after a toll plaza. (my younger sister was nearly crushed by a tractor trailer on a similar merge about 30 years ago.) I nearly hit a West Hartford police car that was blowing through a red light. (The driver gave me a what’s-the-matter-with-you hand gesture. I didn’t hear his siren until he was right in front of me. We need to have more Euro-style sirens.) My daughter nearly collided with an ambulance that passed an on-coming car on a blind curve.

We took a tour of the Mark Twain house in Hartford. The woodwork alone is worth the tour. My daughter drove us to East Haddam to see the Gillette Castle. It was built by William Gillette, a nineteenth and early twentieth century actor, director, and man-about-the-stage. He was famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes over 1,300 times in a play he wrote. The castle is truly unique and a bit creepy. His work on the stage was instrumental in legitimizing American theater. He also made significant improvements to the art of foley.

We went to Wethersfield for dinner and discovered it was Bikes on Main day. The event celebrated the bicycle. Every store and home on Main had a decorated bicycle displayed.

After returning to DC my wife, daughter, and I went to the phone store and acquired new iPhones. Our old ones no longer supported newer apps and devices. One pleasant surprise is that the battery life is much improved over my old iPhone 7.

I spent the following morning sealing big cracks in the concrete stairs leading to our front door. I rewarded myself with a 30-mile ride on The Mule. After that, I converted my steed to touring mode by removing the Carradice saddle bag and selecting four panniers for the trip.

Friday was Bike to Work Day. I didn’t sign up because I thought I’d be gone on tour. Instead I rode to Coffee Club (only two others came) and then as an afterthought picked up a t-shirt at a pit stop. Then I rode to REI and bought a small bottle of castile soap, something I use often on bike tours. Three big takeaways from the day. E-bikes are booming in this area. They’re the new big thing. On the way to DC, I was passed in Old Town Alexandria by an electric school bus. How strange to hear the whine of an electric motor (or maybe the drive train) as the bus accelerated from a stop. Quiet, cleaner, faster. Works for me. Finally, I cheated a bit and rode the re-built bridge through Dyke Marsh on the Mount Vernon Trail. The new bridge is wide and a bit higher that the old one. Mostly, it’s smooth, a welcome change from the beat up old wooden bridge boards.

Over the course of the last month, I have amassed a bunch of stuff for my bike tour and set it on the floor in the family room. In short order I should have it all packed away. The trick will be to not leave anything behind. (On the eclipse trip in April, I dutifully packed my toiletries in a small bag. I left the bag on the bathroom counter. Derp.) Each year I tweak the stuff I’m bringing. I probably won’t bring any spare cables since I wouldn’t know how to install them anyway. I am bringing a wrench to adjust the rear brake, a master link breaker tool, some tire valve stems and a valve tool, and some allen wrenches in place of a multitool.