For once, I wasn't angry at congestion on the highway. The skies were a dazzling cerulean, though it wouldn't have mattered had they been drab and grey. I was thankful to be in traffic.
There I said it. I was thankful that my gaze could fall upon an element in 3D, in real-time, as a constituent of the present community. For all the days before a screen have accumulated over the course of the pandemic, rendering me blurry-eyed and migraine-ridden, furthermore despising tending to my own organizational trackers after work.
On this early evening ride, I learned that not all MUPs were continuous, and that shifting from the SB to NB sides was, seemingly, perfectly normal. We ate dust along the downhill stretch, yet chanced upon some daisies by the QEW ramp.
Our egress from the park was lined with the withered petals of dandelions - "summer snow", as my partner-in-crime had declared.
Being fatigued and without reflective bands or bike lights, I was positively petrified. Designated bike lanes weaved in and out of the vehicle pavement markings along Mississauga Road, gradually diminishing to darkness as dusk turned to night. Each press of the pedal grew weaker, until the only noticeable feeling was tingling from excessive gripping of the handlebars.
But we managed it, somehow. Alas, I owe the driving force to a sense for survival rather than determination.
1) Pork Loin Two Ways: Katsu, Pork Chops
Admittedly on the drier side, the recipe yielded the crispiest no-frying katsu I had ever experienced. Its distinctive lean-ness encouraged a saucy component to re-introduce moisture; we took to either ketchup, HP sauce, a drizzle of the radish pickling liquid, then followed with warmed caramelized onions and piping steamed white rice grains.
As expected, it was oilier in comparison, yet still delicious for the effort exerted.
Driving through the countless one-way streets, it was observed that distancing measures were maintained albeit lightened. Alexandra Park had transformed into a campsite of sorts, resembling the side streets of Thank U Coffee at a larger scale.