2020-06-01 – There was rioting in Chicago yesterday and I went for a bike ride.

There is no connection between these two things. They are just two aspects of living through a global pandemic. There’s danger, but you have to live through it.

Disease is one thing. There’s things you can do to fight disease and things that are beyond your control. Bike riding is one thing I do to fight disease—not just coronavirus, but all the diseases of aging that may be held at bay if I keep myself healthy and in good shape. Wearing a mask is another thing I do.

Sadly, there are people who fight on the other side. They’re good with promoting disease and hatred. They are deadly. That’s why there were demonstrations in Chicago yesterday.

I am normally clueless about demonstrations in advance or I would go to more of them. I would have considered going to the demonstration on Saturday, but I didn’t hear about it until way too late.

In normal times, I might have even stumbled on Saturday’s demonstration. In other years, I would often ride the lakefront trail. If I would have ridden the lakefront trail, I might have seen the demonstration—or at least seen people gathering for it. This year, the lakefront trail was closed. So I rode the North Branch trail.

When I got home, my son was there to swap cars because he’s moving to a new apartment. He asked if I was going to the demonstration. I asked him what he knew about it. He said a friend of his was going. But it was already too late.

It’s probably just as well. The Chicago demonstrations didn’t end well. But I’ve been to demonstrations before that didn’t end well. I thought were over, I went home, and later learned that folks that remained had “clashed with police” or “damaged property” or “been arrested.” This is a standard trick of the troublemakers—to wait until people have gone home.

Don’t know if that’s what happened this week. Just saying that, even if I had gone, I probably would have been gone before the trouble started.

My ride Saturday was 40 miles. Riding is not just good for my health. It gives me time to think or even time to empty my mind. Sometimes I just listen to the birds. I never listen to music or wear ear buds. I want to hear what’s going on around me.

Saturday’s thoughts were about the awful state of the nation. Not one of my most pleasant think-topics for a ride.

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