I took a shady and satisfying bike ride this morning along some of the roads I’ve ridden in the last few days. It was a muggy morning, as all of them have been lately, but my riding pace was slow and smooth, and the breeze in my face was strong and steady. One of my favorite parts of the ride was the short, steep climb up a farmland road called Youngs Road. It is, indeed, very steep, but I took my time and used low gears, stopping for cold water every so often and enjoying the Northeast Connecticut countryside. The road runs alongside a pasture where one long brown cow was quietly standing. Another wonderful portion of the ride was a road I hadn’t taken before – an English-looking road running between freshly cut pastures and rather stately country homes. I felt lucky to be riding there.