Why did the chicken cross the road?

The oldest joke in the world and I still don't know the answer. What I do know is that the chicken tried, emphasis on tried, to cross the road I was riding this morning. He must have been scratching in the tall grass at the side of the road and all of a sudden jumped out in front of me. I was on a bit of downhill and it all happened so fast that in an instant he was dinged by my wheel, started squawking like the crazy chicken he was, feathers were flying and my heart doubled it's beat and moved straight into my throat. Long story short, the chicken survived the impact, I managed to keep the bike upright and we both continued on our way, me making considerably less noise than the chicken....I watch for deer, wild turkeys and other bits of New Jersey wildlife but a chicken? Unbelievable. Otherwise today was easily one of the ten best of the year. Blue skies with big white puffy clouds, warm but no humidity - perfect day for a ride. It occured to me today that I don't really train for anything. I simply love the ride and go do it for its own sake. I mixed the hills with a long stretch of flat today and chose lots roads running alongside streams including a long stretch with the Delaware River on my side. I did 72 miles and felt comfortable when I finally pulled into my own driveway...no pressure, just a perfect day with a great ride.