Chickens

I had a long ride today with "efforts." I did work. There was not much scenery-watching. On my final effort I turned up a road known for having about zero traffic. It's a gradual climb with farms spread across a valley. I like it because it is scenic and always seems peaceful. At this point in the ride my legs hated me, so I figured "peaceful" might be good for them, or at least take my mind off my legs.

I rounded a corner to find a large pickup truck stopped in the middle of the road - a wooden crate had obviously fallen off the back, probably as they rounded the corner a little quickly for the top-heavy structure. As I got closer I noticed three men scampering around the road, chasing chickens. It was awesome. Apparently chickens can run fast when they want to. I went around the far side of the truck, narrowly missing a chicken giving his full effort to escape into the free world. The three men looked at me in bewilderment as I smiled at them and rode on.

Ten minutes later they passed me, chicken coop back in place, full of feathered friends. One of the men fist-pumped out the window to let me know they had won the chase.

And for some reason this made me laugh. My job today was to ride my bike, run and try to nail a hard workout. Their job had been to deliver chickens. I'm fairly certain we both succeeded - each with a few speed bumps along the way.