Where is everybody?

What's going on? How come youse guys are all so quiet. Whacha been doin?

Last weekend I went for a very nice ride - headed out a bit southwest from my house towards Jordan Lake. It was a beautiful day & I saw some sights.

Around mile 26, I ran into this cute boy on a spiffy new black bike. I thought it would be fun to ride with him for a while. He's fast. I can't keep up with him. I'm not sure if I want to ride with him anymore.

Wednesday night I did about 15 miles, but I got a late start and it was getting dark. I was worried it would start raining & I thought I felt raindrops - then I realized it was bugs. It was nasty. Yesterday morning, I took another long ride. It's been hotter than Hades down here lately. Jim loaned me his camel pack, which I have to say, was pretty great. I wanted to leave at 7 but didn't get on the road 'til 8:45. This week I headed south. The first half of the ride was no problem at all. There was some shade and interesting scenery - this week's livestock of note is guinea hens, plus some roadkill rattlesnakes, but that's not really livestock. It's not even deadstock. At mile 24 I hit some parts where the road surface was really rough. There were strong head winds and crosswinds, making every pedal stroke a struggle. I got mildly irritated when the thermometer on my cyclo-computer hit 100. But I made it all the way back without having to call for a ride. Barely.

Total miles - 46.4
Total time - 3:40:19
Total $ raised - $885

Then it was off to the DBAP to watch the Bulls & PawSox. Michael Bowden & Charlie Zink joined us to share our picnic and sign autographs. PawSox took all three games this past weekend - tonight it's Buccholz vs. Kazmir. Should be good.

Beaucoups de rides

Dudes,

I am working hard. I started late and I am super sucky at bike riding, but I am trying very hard to overcome my shortcomings. Since I started about two weeks ago, I have been doing 3-4 rides a week and am progressively increasing my mileage and climbing. I've been doing my long rides on Sunday mornings, which usually works pretty well. Every Sunday, I set a new bar for myself of longest ride ever. I try to do one or two evening rides and one or two morning rides during the week. Plus I have ballet twice a week, so I am getting at least five good workouts per week. I am trying to maintain 12 mph, which for me is hard. But dudes, I am getting it done.

There are lots of interesting things to see on each ride and they have all been scenic with tons of different places to go. I don't think I've done the same ride twice yet. I think my theme for the year will be livestock (I also considered cemeteries and old cars - I'll save those for another year).

Last Sunday, I saw lots of horses and cows, donkeys and goats. I got caught in some heavy rain for the last two miles. In some ways it was good because at least now I know what it's like to ride in the rain. Friday night I went for a really nice ride. It was kind of misting on & off the whole time, but it actually felt nice and the roads weren't too wet. I saw horses, cows, a peacock, a turtle looking up at me when I crossed a bridge and a couple of deer crossed the road in front of me toward the end of my ride.

Yesterday, I went for a long ride and surpassed my time/speed goal. I got a later start than I wanted, which meant I didn't finish until after noon and I was riding with a lot less shade than I hoped for. It was hot. I saw more horses and cows (one cow was wearing a pink bike helmet), I rescued a turtle from certain death, I saw a beaver, and around mile 16 or so, I came across a sign for what I really needed... Mt. Energy. Unfortunately, I wasn't going that way and headed for the valley of despair instead. It was really pretty hilly. One bad hill in the last half mile - it wasn't appreciated.

I see other kinds of creatures when I get home.

And guess who bought a bike yesterday. Progress on all fronts.