...visited the barn last night.

I had planned on getting an iPhone last night after work and then biking out to the barn, but when I finally got my butt into town (after having swung by the grocery store on my way home), I realized I didn't have time and had to get back, eat some dinner, and head out.

The ride is about a half an hour, or a bit over 7km of hills. I seem to have this penchant of trying out shortcuts, and on my way there, I saw a road that looked to be marked with a max. of 60kph. I went down that and it turned out to be a mini-highway. When the truckers started honking at me, I turned around and went along smaller routes.

Once there, I met a fellow (my arrival had been forewarned) who introduced me to things. The coach was sick but will be back, perhaps next week. I walked around and then watched some of the riders practice flatwork. There's little jumping done here, and their jumping ring is smaller than Maple Lane's. I do miss that place quite a bit.

I left around 8:30pm, and started to head home. Engaging the little generator on my back wheel I soon discovered.... that neither front nor back light were connected. I had no equipment with me, and the screws were on so tight that even ripping off a tab from a pen, I was unable to undo them. After 100m of riding in the German countryside without light, I felt this was decidedly unsafe. Thankfully, an idea came to me. For the rest of my bike ride, I held my cell phone in front, periodically pressing a button to light up the screen.

You would think that after that, I'd be smart enough to head home along a well-known path. I decided to try a shortcut. This lead me to a dark path that my feeble cell could not illuminate and so I got off and walked. I ended up passing a gazebo atop a hill with a lookout to the town and the cathedral. I would have enjoyed it more if I knew where I was, or how to get home, as by this time I was slightly tired. But after weaving through sidestreets and a few dead ends, I made my way back.

p.s. This morning I came into work and fixed my lights.