Cherry Ripe For A Ride

I always look for a sharp way to start of a post, hopefully with some sort of catchy word play that might draw anybody who stumbles across the blog into reading further. I was pretty sure today’s title would play that role perfectly. And then I wasn’t.

A cherry ripe is an Australian chocolate bar and for me was also a term used to describe someone or something in its optimal state.

And I thought the expression to be cherry ripe was pretty common.

But when I Googled for a link to the term to help the SEO, I was surprised to find that nothing came up.

British English uses cherry ripe as rhyming slang for a pipe, which I wasn’t familiar with.

And American English seems to have no other term.

Strine, I was sure, would come to the rescue, but that wasn’t the case.

I’m painfully aware that my cognitive abilities are diminishing as old age takes me further into my grip.

I’m already getting an alarming sense of first language attrition having lived outside of a native English-speaking environment for 35 years now and my language of primary use having been Japanese for nearly all of that time.

But just as worries started overtaking me, I got a little reassurance that I am not the only person who wasn’t sure of the definition of being “cherry ripe.”

It turns out that the term is apparently Aussie footy commentatorese, and not an expression used widely outside of sporting circles in Melbourne, or southern Australia at best.

So it was a bit too early to be alarmed….at least in this instance.

And I missed out on a smarmy, easily understandable blog post title.

But I used it anyway.

And I got to get some pretty awesome photos.

It was especially lucky to capture these shots as I had actually given up on the ride once this morning.

I prepared for cycling and left home as usual only to find it drizzling.

Struggling to brake in the dry, I thought it prudent to turn back, so I did.

But I got into the lounge room and noticed the rain had stopped.

Having gained 30 kg since 2021, I thought it’s probably best to get out on the bike whenever I have a chance, so I re-dressed, grabbed my pushie and set off.

I got several kilometers into the ride when the drizzle turned to a light but steady rain.

It was too dangerous to go far, but by that time I had already captured enough photos, so I headed home.

I’m hoping that disc brakes may make riding in the wet a possibility. I had to get off the bike while going downhill today, just in case.

It would be terrible to lose cycling from my life.