More Rain!

Well, today was the Chica Ride--me and Sue. We are the original Chicas, and it's fitting that we got to do a ride together today, especially since her days are numbered with that bun in the oven. Drat! I hate it when my bike friends get pregnant!!!!

So, I was on the singlespeed today and Sue felt like kicking my ass and taking advantage of me (okay, she's really not like that). We headed up Dan's trail and I made my best go at it. I actually made some climbs I didn't think I could do, but I also had to walk some sections. Definitely a challenge to be conquered! We made it to the water tower when the lightning started rolling in. Sue and I have ridden many a time in the rain, but lightning is a true sign it's time to call it quits. We didn't get too far past the North Foothills when we turned around and took road back to the house. Still got in a decent 50 minute ride (an not much gabbing today), so not bad at all.

I jumped on the elliptical machine as soon as I got home and did 25 minutes on it. 5 minutes of warmup, then 20 minutes with 40/80 intervals. 40 seconds as fast and hard as I could go, then 80 seconds rest. Back and forth...in the 40 seconds, I could get the heart rate up to 170, then drop to about 150 in the 80 break. As would be expected, I couldn't hit the 170 each time...slowly I dropped during the 40 intervals until the highest I could get was 167. Definitely a good workout! Not much fun though.

Some sad news in the biking community. A woman I've heard much about but didn't know personally, Paula Higgins, was hit by a car and killed yesterday. It's a reminder that we always have to be careful when riding on the road. A few times while on the road I've darted through a yellow light, sped through a 4-way intersection, etc. Losing a few seconds of momentum or having to unclip out of the pedals is a simple inconvenience compared to losing my life. Lesson learned.