Happy Friday!

My free time away from the schedule of classes is quickly coming to an end. I can't believe how fast four weeks can fly by! I suppose it is what happens when there is much to be done in just a few weeks though. Today, I ventured out for a short trip to find socks. Sam and I were in a local shoe store over the weekend and noticed that they had wool socks on sale, so I decided  to go back by today, after a quick stop at the post office to drop off the last of the giveaway items.

I was indeed riding on the sidewalk, but this is one of the few streets that I find it more
dangerous to be on the street than on the sidewalk with pedestrians.
Fear not though - I ride slower than most walk on these sidewalks.

I locked up the Hillborne, taking all my personal items with me (the wallet, keys, phone, etc), and went bopping down the street.

I'm still attempting to figure out why the engineers/organizers/etc put all the bike racks together within a one block radius, instead of spreading them throughout the 4-5 blocks of shops in this part of the city. I opted to lock to a tree rather than going down a couple of blocks to a bike rack. It worked out fine regardless. I was able to find some socks for a great price and then spotted a newer store across the street (which I discovered has actually been there since June).

Though difficult to see in this photo, the store is full of paintings, sculpture, jewelry
and other interesting art pieces and gifty kinds of items

What I failed to mention is that in between my trip to the shoe store and my short walk across the street, I passed back by the Hillborne and discovered that I am apparently completely forgetful these days as I had left the camera attached to the front of the bike. Fortunately, no one took the camera (particularly since I had borrowed Sam's camera) and I was able to remove it before continuing on. I guess we really do live in a lower-crime area... though I don't want to take chances with this because I know things do get stolen.

I'm so paranoid about leaving my bikes, even locked - though I really don't have reason to be this way

After my short shopping trip, I headed home, passing a few bicyclists along the way. Do you find people are friendlier when you're on your bike in the winter months? I keep wondering if this is just in my head, but I swear more people - both in cars and on bikes - smile and give me more distance (even when there isn't snow on the ground).

Where has your Friday taken you? Hopefully, you've found some bike time and are preparing for an enjoyable weekend. Enjoy - wherever life takes you!