Had an interesting commute last evening. Started out strong, legs felt great (after two weeks of easy riding with the family while on vacation).

About 1/3 of the way through my ride (13.5 miles each way), I pass through a small cluster of homes that must have been built long ago, because they are very close to the road. At one particular house there is an elderly man who is often sitting on his front porch, and waves every time I ride by. Weeks ago I told myself I should stop and say hello, but he hadn't been out for a while, probably due to the hot muggy weather. I was starting to think he may have died, and felt bad for never stopping.

But he was there last night. And I stopped, said hello and introduced myself. His name is Ralph. I'd guess he's in his 80's. He's hard of hearing, and appears to have some kind of nervous system disease - ALS maybe - as his hand was shaky in mine. We chatted for just a few moments. He said he used to ride a lot, and likes to watch "you young fellas" going by. He seemed truly delighted that I'd stopped.

I rode on, deep in thought, feeling good, hammering a bit because it felt right.

I stopped for a moment to switch my computer over to the cumulative odometer (it won't switch to that while moving, but will to all other modes), because I know I'm only a couple miles from 1,000 for the year on my road bike (which I got in May...so really my first big milestone on it). 997. 998. 999.

Suddenly I hear a loud SNAP paired with my seat falling off, followed by jingling of seat parts on the road as I'm cruising down a slight grade at about 25 or so.

At first I thought my carbon seat post broke under my 220 pounds of Clyde mass. But it didn't. The bolt for the seat clamp snapped clean in half. As i was walking around looking for the parts which had scattered, a guy in an SUV pulls up to ask if I need help. I said no, but thanks for stopping. Found all my parts, but had no bolt. LBS is only a few miles away, but I call my wife to come get me instead of riding without my seat. It didn't seem right to click my first 1K miles without a seat!!

Stopped by the LBS, five minutes of searching for the right bolt and I'm back in business.

With only about 1/2 mile to go to my 1K, I went out around 9:30 and rode around the neighborhood with my kids. They were happy to be part of my milestone : )

All commutes are good. Some are more memorable than others.

One more thought -- twice in the past few weeks I've had motorists stop to see if I needed help. Last night, and a few weeks ago when fixing a flat. That's pretty cool. Maybe next time it'll be a cute girl. Oh wait...married : )