Suburban Riding

Cycling in Olathe has its challenges. I'm constantly stuck at lights and stopsigns, swerving to avoid overcautious drivers, jostling over bumpy sidewalks, and searching for those ever elusive bike lanes (you know, the ones that go for a half-mile and then mysteriously disappear).

 

But, then again, Olathe is wonderfully flat, so it's easy to conquer miles and miles of road here with minimum pain. And I have to admit that some parts of Olathe are beautiful. Take the shady, verdant streets near my house or the hidden trails and parks tucked away alongside Olathe's busy intersections and strip malls. 

My favorite trail is the loop around Frisco Lake. The trail is smooth and well-tended, the lake is shimmering and clear, and you can see from horizon to horizon over the water's expanse. Usually, the surrounding park is teeming with Canadian geese, men fishing, gaggles of small children chasing ducks, and mothers visiting on park benches. But yesterday afternoon, the park was wonderfully empty and still. The cooler weather had cleared away everyone but the ducks that snoozed on the bank, and this:

  

I don't know if she was a heron or something else, but she had a beautifully spotted neck. She waded through the water delicately, snatching up and gobbling fish that looked at least seven inches long.

It's not often that I catch sight of such natural beauty in the suburbs, but I am grateful for it, and grateful for whatever moved me to haul my bike out yesterday, strap on a helmet, and take on the streets of Olathe on a Tuesday afternoon.