Bike Ride 8, Stopped by a Train!

I was feeling sad today, my first full day without Mac here.  It was super hot, humid and all around icky.  I had a migraine and felt awful for most of the day.
My best friend Laurie emailed and asked how I was doing today.  She knows how hard it is to lose a dog; she had to put her Max down a few months ago.
Laurie knows how much I love my new bike (she's the one who made it possible for me to buy it), and she suggested that I should go for a bike ride, in order to feel better.
I wasn't going to go because it was so hot and I felt awful, but at 8 PM it dropped down to just under 90 F with the humidex, so I grabbed some ice water and my camera and headed out. I'm glad I did.

Route 8

 My goal was to reach the portion of the Hub Bike Trail that is on Carmen's Way, which is the yellow road at the far left of my map, above.  As you can see, I almost made it...but was foiled, by a train.  The trail was just on the other side oft the tracks.

Stopped by a train

 I rode off the road and onto this parking lot to wait it out.

Parking lot where i waited for train

 I waited. And waited. The train went forward, backed up, went forward, backed up.  I got off my bike and wandered around the parking lot.

 And waited some more.

 It finally looked like the train might actually back up enough to clear the road.  It did!  But then it stopped there, just sitting, and the warning lights telling traffic to stop stayed on, winking their red warning. I decided to cross the street and take an alternate route, hoping I could bike up to the next rail crossing and beat the train.

Train sitting still.

 I passed this cool old house with a ladder that reached clear up to the roof top.  It reminded me of something, and I think it was a poster with houses and ladders at the doctor's office, from when I was a child.

Cool house with ladder.

 Just down the street from the ladder house, there was a trail...my favorite!  I followed it and came out on this pretty little park.

Pretty little park

 Alas, I had waited for the train for too long, and the sun was starting to set.

 I followed the other end of the trail out of the park and came up on this portion of Second Line.  Carmen's Way, and the hub trail was just on the other side of the tracks, so close, but alas, out of reach due to the setting sun.

 Cars already had their lights on, and the sun was bright, as it is just before it sets.  The clouds were streaked with oranges and red, blue and purple.  It was going to be a spectacular sunset.  I turned around and followed the path back through the park.

 I pedaled like crazy, trying to beat the setting sun.

Pretty sun beams through clouds.

 I stopped one last time to capture this picture of the sun shining through the clouds, and of St. Gregory's Church, where I used to belong to the youth group, back in highschool.  My camera lost it's charge at that point and shut itself down.

A lady came up to me to see what I was doing and we chatted for a few minutes. Her name was Clara, and she seemed very nice.

 I coaxed my camera back on and was able to snap one last photo before it shut down and refused to turn on again.  The sunset was incredible, and I enjoyed it, even though I couldn't capture the memories.