You’ll find out it’s little savors and little things that count more than big ones. A walk on a spring morning is better than an eighty-mile ride in a hopped-up car, you know why? Because it’s full of flavors, full of a lot of things growing.

      Ray Bradbury, Dandelion Wine

What can I say? TNO Contributing Photographer Pat McKay took the photo and provided the quote. And I like both. A lot of otherwise rational folks wage war on dandelions. Or they simply ignore them, as if beauty were somehow diminished by being commonplace. But Pat keeps his eyes (and his mind) open. I like that, too.

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Dogs have always regarded cyclists with some degree of suspicion. And vice versa. In fact, dogs have laid more than a few speeding riders low. Farwell carries the scars of one such encounter to this day. Yet there are also many times when relations between the two camps — riders and dogs — are entirely cordial. This was the case at the finish line of the Tour of the Battenkill recently, where TNO Contributing Photographer Anthony T. Jancek stumbled on an island of tranquility amidst the throng of milling spectators, exhausted racers, and cheering (or consolatory) supporters.

You can find this photo — and many, many more, besides — at Tony’s Tour of the Battenkill 2013 Gallery at Zenfolio.

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Serendipity happens, as TNO Contributing Photographer Pat McKay proved just last weekend:

The temperature was 77 degrees Fahrenheit, a perfect day for a 77-mile bike ride. In fact, I was in such a hurry to start my favorite metric century around Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and Hooper's Island that I was a half hour into the ride before I realized that I had left my two water bottles back in the pickup. Hurrah! Bonus miles. And if the chance to spend some more time in the saddle on a glorious day wasn't reward enough, I spotted this mated pair of bald eagles on my way back to the truck. Talk about a win-win!

And here’s the evidence:

Weight-conscious cyclists — is there any other kind? — will be glad to hear that Pat used his Canon SX50 HS to take these shots, proving that small can be beautiful and light is right, at least when there’s a first-rate photographer behind the camera.

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