Monday, July 07, 2025

When the sign says stop, listen

Painted intersection
Middlesex Centre, ON
July 2025
This photo originally shared on Instagram


The scene: Ten Mile Road, north of the not-so-big city. I’m in the middle of a hot and humid slog of a ride when I take an unplanned turn onto this gravel road.

I ride a gravel bike, so I tell myself it makes sense to ride it on gravel every once in a while. But a few hundred metres in, I realize you roll a lot more slowly on gravel than on pavement, and I’m watching the clock. So I turn around and head back to more familiar - and speedy - asphalt.

As I approach the intersection, I zero in on the giant stop sign that makes it almost impossible to see anything else. As often happens when I’m wandering the countryside, the scene speaks to me, and soon enough I’m getting off the bike for a fast photo shoot.

I’m learning to listen to the inner voice that whispers encouragement to slow down and appreciate tiny moments like this one, even as the clock ticks and the not-so-big city calls us back to everyday reality.

Because that reality will always be there. But scenes - and moments - like this might not.

#ldnont #london #ontario #canada #tenmile #hydepark #cycling #bicycle #instabike #landscapephotography #photography #apple #iphone #iphone16 #shotoniphone

Related:
Mailboxes Etc. January 2025
Goose reads the sign, September 2024
Arrows everywhere, January 2023
No stopping here, February 2021
Where it all began, February 2019

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