Davis Loop Rider

i found out the other day that there is a bicycle loop, or you might say hoop, around the city of Davis. my given name being Davis, i came here for my first time as Hoop Rider. this is a little line i came up with about it:

 Davis the Hoop Rider takes a ride around the Davis Loop with his hula hoop.

it's true. it really happens.

this morning was the morning i was going to depart back up to Mt. Shasta. i noticed before going to bed at 1am that someone on their way from Sacramento to Seattle (my home town) was leaving at 7am, so i got up early to check on that possibility. when i realized i was not ready to leave yet, i decided to take advantage of this relatively early start to my day and ride the Davis Loop while it was still cool. i was SO sleepy though and laid back down to doze for another hour or so.

 the Sunwise Co-op is right on the Loop at it's west end. i started out in the clockwise direction, as i had not ridden that way yet. i took a little detour before leaving Village Homes to one of their orchards, where the previous day i had discovered a mulberry tree with tons of dried berries on the ground beneath. i'd wanted to harvest some to bring with me. it felt good to ride on designated trail with no particular destination. just moving forward and focussing on the mechanics of riding helped ease my mind. i'd been getting anxious about my departure and all the things i had wanted to do before i left. all i had to do as i rode was enjoy the scenery, watch out for other trail users, and look for markings to tell me the way. the trail is mostly well marked, but some places are not so clear and i ended up getting off the loop. somehow i got down to the other side of the loop by crossing through near the center of Davis. the section i came to by the arboretum was nice, being shaded by tall oaks mostly. i went east and around in the other direction than i had started out, then when i got to the top of the loop again the trail was once again lost to me. i made some attempts, getting back on and loosing it again. then i decided to take 5th, a main street with a bike land, through the center of Davis. the changes of route i made led to me riding in more of a twisted hoop, an infinity symbol.

 the part of the loop that passed through the UC Davis campus was swarming with students on bikes! i liked riding through that. sometimes i really like the feeling of heavy traffic, where there is more interaction between us and we have to take more care to flow around each other. i stopped by the domes to get the sunglasses i left the night before. the folks who had gathered for a farewell reunion dinner were setting up the biggest wooden ladder i've ever seen to pick mulberries off the huge tree over the chicken run. i saw one of the firs taking pictures with her phone and asked her if she could get one of me. she was very nice and obliged.