Bright Sunshine

Okay, so maybe I'm not quite at this pace yet. In fact, I'm probably more along the lines of this pace.....
But it's all riding and it's all good. Today was an awesome day! The sun was out, temps were in the upper 60s to lower 70s during the ride, and the wind was light. Matt was in Gallup, NM at the Dawn Til Dusk bike race with Dan. They decided to race duo on their singlespeeds. Since I was on my own today, I went at my happy-go-lucky slow as a snail pace today. It woulda driven Matt nuts! ;o)

Woke up, had a light breakfast, surfed the net...got bored. Too chilly out to get on the bike yet. Okay, so it was in the mid 50s. I could have handled it, but I was too lazy to dig out a jacket and then layer so I could strip down as the temps rose. So, I sat out in the sun on our deck and read a book for awhile. We have some evil birds living in the walls of our house that kept me occupied part of the time. They chase each other out of their nests, then kill each other's babies. It's really sad. I found an egg out in our driveway that had been tossed out of a nest.

I started to get ready to head out for a road ride around 11:30, but I didn't hit the road until 12:30. I got distracted...finding clothes, doing some laundry, filling up water bottles, talking to Isabel, the neighbor...it all adds up. Anyway, geared up with shorts, short-sleeved liner under the SS jersey, and arm warmers, I was ready to hit the road!

I headed down Tramway Blvd, and ended up meeting 2 other women riders, Rita and Lynn. Rita works where I do, and Lynn works as a PE teacher. Pretty cool. I ended up riding with them to Tramway and Central. We turned around and headed back. They dropped off at Tramway and Live Oak, and then I hit the neighborhood for a little bit of climbing. I needed to really test out the gearing as Matt was sweet enough to put on a 27 cassette in back for me so I can wuss my way through some rides while the hip heals. I noticed a slight difference. For one, I could actually use my hardest gears, whereas before, it was too difficult to pedal. Had some slipping in the 3rd and 4th back ring (from the largest in). Otherwise, not bad!

I tried not to climb as hard as I did last time, and it paid off. I'm sore and have to definitely use the cane to walk, but I don't hurt like I did last time. Plus, I'm good to go for a light ride tomorrow. Paige and Lisa are going to go riding with me on the paved Alameda trail. I'm looking forward to it!

Stats for today--
Ride time: 1.5 hours
Avg. mph: 13.8 (don't laugh, I'll get better--I'm drinking my milk!!)
Distance: 20.3 miles