Bike Riding

I used to be an avid bike rider back in Ventura where the air is clean and you can ride beside the ocean. When we moved here to Bakersfield we tried to keep the bike riding up but when the air is filthy and the summers are roastingly hot and there is no ocean to ride by, and the traffic here is horrendous and people don't watch out for bicyclists and like to RUN THEN OVER! we kind of let the bikes get all rusty and cobwebby, and there was that one time when the doves made their nest in my bike basket.

I was doing some (forced since I have no car) walking to the post office each day but since my little post office is closed I'm not as inclined to get out and walk.

So...long story short, we got the bikes out and cleaned them up somewhat and have been getting a little bike time in. Yesterday morning I took a nice long bike ride but got really hot by the end of it and was feeling a little sick, so I thought I'd get up earlier today and get out for a ride by 8 when it supposedly wouldn't be quite so hot out. I'm back and I did get too hot again and feel a little icky, but at least I got some exercise.

As I've said before, we live in 'Riverlakes' but in the ghetto end of it. So, I start my bike ride by heading up to the rich end of the neighborhood.

This is the main street that goes through the neighborhoods here, it is kind of pretty with lots of trees.


At the end of this street you come to the golf course with houses whose backyards are on the edges of the course.


It is all fenced and gated and all that to keep us ghetto people from bothering them.

And, as I've said before there is no river in Riverlakes, but there is an irrigation canal. You have to cross over this to get to the actual lake.


On your way to the lake you pass the gates to the gated golf course community.


The golf course is open to the public if you can afford to play here that is.


Instead of Riverlakes I think they should call this Richerlakes. Cause you have to be rich to live here.

Then you get to the real live lake. If you have to live in Bakersfield, this would be a nice spot.


But we don't. And as this sign says KEEP YOUR GHETTO SELF OUT OF OUR LAKE!


Actually we do belong to the 'Riverlakes Ranch Master Association', those are the folks that send us the nastygrams if our grass gets too long or we leave the trash cans out more than 5 minutes after the trash truck comes. The ones that we have to pay $36.00 a month to, which is a total waste of $36.00.