Back on the bike (Afternoon ride added)

I was back on the bike today and I have to say, it felt really good. Of course it didn't hurt that the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler and about 3/4 less humidity than it has been. I considered wearing my arm warmers.

Last night while Bev spent time in her gardens, which look great by the way, I spent some quality time with the Allez. I gave her a good thorough bath, used my new Park Tool chain scrubber to degrease the chain and then gave her a good lube, put some air in the tires and got her ready for the ride in this morning. The one thing that I did fail to do was charge the headlight. It had NO life in it at all. I turned it on in the garage before I left and nothing. Fortunately, I have a back up headlight, I just have to mount it on the handlebars and I will be on my way. WELL, the handlebar mount for that light is on the handlebars of the Roubaix, which is currently in the shop. This ride is not starting off very well. I have a back up to the back up, which, like me, is not very bright but works in a pinch. I threw that on the handle bars and off I went. Fortunately, it gets light very early now, so the lack of a 'real' headlight was not that big of a deal.

I tried to set a comfortable pace, and not push too hard. I did not concentrate on cadence or speed, I just tried to keep my legs turning at a pace that did not burn my thighs. I took the road route from Jumper's Hole. For some reason I enjoy the change of scenery and the openness of Elvaton Rd. Not much of a shoulder, but not much traffic either.

I had a little bit of a head wind, which I would call more of a head breeze than anything, but I don't feel like it affect the ride much. I did think that it will be nice for Mike and the guys that he sails with on Wednesday nights to enjoy an evening with some wind. It seems like the past few Wednesday nights have been very still, to the point of canceling their races. Good Luck tonight Mike.

I am thrilled to be back on the bike and not feeling quite so sluggish. I will ride as much as I can until next Wednesday and then give myself a couple days rest until the big ride in New England.


Afternoon Ride:

What a beautiful afternoon. The ride home was uneventful and felt pretty good. The details are below.