September 21, 2015 – Sun, 80 degrees

Miles Today: 38

Miles to Date: 7,221

States to Date: 24 

Another perfect day in Ashland, which I spent visiting Ashlanders. My host Steve set up appointments with the Director of Scienceworks, a hands on museum in town, followed by coffee with John Javna, freethinker and author of Fifty Simple Things You Can do to Save the Earth. Then I cycled up to Medford to meet with Steve and his partners at Lime Rock, a design and manufacturing company specializing in motion tracking devices. Finally, I met with Neil Smith of Airscape Fans. By the time I finished talking with these fascinating guys and pedaled back to Ashland, it was dark.

Cycling-wise, I enjoyed riding the Ashland/Medford trail again. First, because its a beautiful trail. Second, because I don’t often get to retrace my steps and experience something familiar from a new perspective. Third, I had another serendipitous meeting along the way.

 A few miles outside of Ashland someone has installed a Bike Journal mailbox. On Sunday, I wrote in it on my way into town. Today as I rounded the bend near the mailbox, a man was reading the journal. His wife pointed to the book and called out, “Are you that guy?” Of course I had to stop and chat with Robert, Denise, and their dog jazz.

Steve and Dorothy treated me to a delicious dinner at The Loft in downtown Ashland. They are in the middle of the ‘Whole 30’ diet – no sugar, not gluten, no bread, and a few other ‘no’s’ I cannot recall – while I just eat large quantities of anything. Explaining our order to the wait staff was a 21^st century version of When Harry Met Sally. We laughed about it while we quizzed the staff about each ingredient. Alas, there was sugar in the mustard vinaigrette. The waiters took it all in stride, but I imagine they laughed about us later.