Yesterdays bike ride.
When I got home after work yesterday, the weather was really quite nice considering how gloomy it 'looked' all day. It had been cloudy and dark all day, but never produced any precipitaion. So I had this wild notion to jump on the Mountain Bike for a ride before the night fell upon me.
It was completely unplanned, so I was a little unorganized trying to find my gear. It took me a good 40 minutes or so before I was finally on the bike and riding down the road. In my haste I'd forgotten to put air in my tires. I had enough to ride, but I'd dropped the pressure for my off-road excursion this past weekend, so I kind of felt like I was riding through molasses the entire time I was out. Determined to get in a good ride before it got too dark, I powered on. I was already too far away from the house to warrant turning around and taking the time to get more tire pressure.
Off I went. I was taking some roads that I was kind of familiar with. It was my goal to get as far as I could in approximately an hour... because I knew that in about an hour it was going to be too dark.
I remembered that there were lots of rolling hills and many of them were quite challenging, but one forgets just how tough they can be. I guess I still haven't gotten use to how hilly it is around here. Until you get on a bike, it just seems so flat.... until you get on a bike!!!
Pushing myself as I was, I ended up getting a little lost. Thank God for technology! I was able to pull out the cell phone and call my wife. She then whipped out the laptop [we have wireless, so it's always handy] and logged on to mapquest. I told her about where I was and she could tell me where I needed to go. Yeah, I could have just turned around and returned the way I came, but I was determined to make a loop towards home. I knew it could happen... and it did.
As with all of the hills that go UP... there are also the hills that go down. They make all the climbs worth it! I tucked every hill that I thought would be worth tucking... and sucked every once of energy out of that hill that had once sucked the energy out of me, on the other side. One hill shot me out at 40 mph! Now that's intimidating! I read a bumper sticker recently that says, "Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly"
I hope my guardian angels are fast, cuz I'm not about to slow down!
...and yeah, it was a little too dark by the time I got home. I need to get better set up with lights. It sucks how it gets so dark so early during the winter months. Power on....
14.2 miles, 01:06:15
1024ft. of elevation (according to USA Track and Field)
When I got home after work yesterday, the weather was really quite nice considering how gloomy it 'looked' all day. It had been cloudy and dark all day, but never produced any precipitaion. So I had this wild notion to jump on the Mountain Bike for a ride before the night fell upon me.
It was completely unplanned, so I was a little unorganized trying to find my gear. It took me a good 40 minutes or so before I was finally on the bike and riding down the road. In my haste I'd forgotten to put air in my tires. I had enough to ride, but I'd dropped the pressure for my off-road excursion this past weekend, so I kind of felt like I was riding through molasses the entire time I was out. Determined to get in a good ride before it got too dark, I powered on. I was already too far away from the house to warrant turning around and taking the time to get more tire pressure.
Off I went. I was taking some roads that I was kind of familiar with. It was my goal to get as far as I could in approximately an hour... because I knew that in about an hour it was going to be too dark.
I remembered that there were lots of rolling hills and many of them were quite challenging, but one forgets just how tough they can be. I guess I still haven't gotten use to how hilly it is around here. Until you get on a bike, it just seems so flat.... until you get on a bike!!!
Pushing myself as I was, I ended up getting a little lost. Thank God for technology! I was able to pull out the cell phone and call my wife. She then whipped out the laptop [we have wireless, so it's always handy] and logged on to mapquest. I told her about where I was and she could tell me where I needed to go. Yeah, I could have just turned around and returned the way I came, but I was determined to make a loop towards home. I knew it could happen... and it did.
As with all of the hills that go UP... there are also the hills that go down. They make all the climbs worth it! I tucked every hill that I thought would be worth tucking... and sucked every once of energy out of that hill that had once sucked the energy out of me, on the other side. One hill shot me out at 40 mph! Now that's intimidating! I read a bumper sticker recently that says, "Don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly"
I hope my guardian angels are fast, cuz I'm not about to slow down!
...and yeah, it was a little too dark by the time I got home. I need to get better set up with lights. It sucks how it gets so dark so early during the winter months. Power on....
14.2 miles, 01:06:15
1024ft. of elevation (according to USA Track and Field)
posted by E-Dub at 10/20/2006 01:30:00 PM
1 Comments:
Start wearing a headlamp. I think I might wear mine for my bike commute this year. I'll look like a geek but I'll have plenty of light! Not that you would look like a geek or anything. Seems like a good ride with some glorious downhills! Luv em.
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