Spring Bike Ride in East Andover
May 2017

Judy and I rode our bikes for the first time this year. We went south
from the post office in East Andover and rode toward Dyers Crossing.
I worked Sicily and Tennessee.



At last it's green and warm.... 70F today. The black flies are also
out and they're horrendous. We found a sunny spot in front of a
small beaver pond where the bugs seemed pretty sparse. I put on
repellent and tossed my wire over a birch branch. I sat down beside
the trail and tuned around 20 meters.

I only heard a few signals... the strongest among them was IT9SSI from
Sicily. Dario gave me a 589, but I couldn't have been that strong. It
took a few calls before he heard me.

Then I tuned up the band a bit and heard N1DWJ in Tennessee calling
CQ. By now, I'd flicked two ticks off, and the black flies were getting
used to the repellent. I was ready to call it quits. Dave gave me a 559
and I signed.

It's just so great to get out again. The sound of red wing blackbirds near
the pond in chorus with a bunch of local frogs, is pure music. Thank
goodness the cold weather is gone.