Expending Energy
The weather since last Thursday has been up and down. Rain, lightning, wind, sun, 90 degrees, 65 degrees: you name it, we've had it. Up until yesterday afternoon, I hadn't ridden since Wednesday, not solely because of the weather, and I was feeling the need to get out for a long one. I did pull myself out of bed early yesterday to get in a two mile run, in the rain, initially hoping to go at least three, but the lightning lit up the dark gray sky, so I turned tail and scurried for home. Afterward, as I sat drinking a large glass of ice water, I marveled over me actually getting out of bed to go for a run. No doubt I really needed to expend some energy. By noon, the clouds and the storms they carried moved on by, and the clear sky, the little to no wind, beckoned me to ride. So I did. 56 miles. I've ridden this route one time before when the wind was blowing 20+ mph out of the southwest, right into my face the last ten miles. That ride was brutal, taking me 3 hours and 25 ...