Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Less than three miles into a planned long ride on the I & M path, Hubby's phone rang. Angel Baby was having a problem with his left eye, and he had a headache. Could we please come get him? Honestly, part of me wanted to tell him to suck it up and get back to his classroom. Didn't he realize we'd just spent over an hour driving to get to the path? Didn't he realize I had mileage I needed to rack up? I didn't say any of this, though, because I could tell by his voice that he wasn't his usual perky, happy self. Instead, I told him his sister would be there as soon as possible to pick him up, and we would be on our way home within the next fifteen minutes. So we turned our bikes around, and rather than a day of ambling along the canal lined with purple-leafed vines and trees of vibrant yellow foliage, we hurried back to the truck, quickly removed the front tires from both bikes to load them in the back, then set off for the return drive. Once home, I made Angel...

Yesterday I rode 71 miles, half straight into a cold, miserable wind. Granted, an 8 mph wind isn't much, but when the air is cold, the combination of cold and wind make for a difficult ride. Because I had already decided to ride at least 70 miles, I wasn't about to quit. Don't get me wrong; I really, really wanted to turn around and return to the comfort of my warm, comfortable home, preferably my cozy, most-likely-still-warm bed. Several times. At mile 14, I stopped to eat some trail mix and drink some water, thinking both would be a pick-me-up. At mile 20, I stopped to sit on a concrete bridge railing, thinking more trail mix and water along with some  contemplation of life would be the magic combination for keeping me going. While I was sitting there, staring down at the murky water below, a man in a gray pickup stopped and said, "Don't jump. You're not high enough." I laughed, saying if I were to jump, I'd only be wet and colder than I already wa...

It's Friday, Friday! Which meant I was able to get a longer ride in. Starting Wednesday, I thought often about rolling out right after my youngest set off for school, and that's exactly what I did. I didn't have a route planned out like I usually do. I just went, and when I reached the point of having to make a decision on which direction to go, I followed whatever popped into my head. What popped at Spin Lake was "hey, take the route you rode for the Miles of Smiles century backwards." So I did. And when I reached Congerville, what popped was "hey, you can ride the part you missed during MOS." So I did. Very quickly I found out what I missed: hills, hills, and more hills. A couple were 10% grades, a couple were 7% grades, and one was even an 11% grade. Towards the end of the ride, I was hearing a noise on and off, coming from the crank. The hills put a lot of pressure on the crank today, so I won't be surprised if some maintenance is needed. 60 mile...

The cycling was interrupted this week with the unexpected visit of a friend. She came in on Wednesday and resumed her journey late Thursday afternoon. Because I tend to be quite anal about the condition of our home when company is coming, I spent Wednesday cleaning before her arrival, so the ride didn't happen. While I longed to get out, I think not riding was a good thing after my 133 miles on Sunday. Having extra recovery days most likely didn't hurt things at all. During Sunday's ride, I thought some about the effects I would feel from cycling over a hundred miles. I found out day by day this week. Monday my quads were sore, like I'd done a lot of squats, and by mid afternoon I needed to take a nap. Tuesday, the soreness had eased, so Hubby and I went for a short ride, actually two short rides. The first was an early morning twelve miler around the lake. The air was cool, the sun was shining, and according to the turbines the wind was non-existent. The second ride ...

One of my summer goals was to ride from my home to my parents' home which is 133 miles away, in another state. I've been keeping check on the weather for a while, never liking the wind situation, and kept saying maybe tomorrow. Well tomorrow came today. I started out at 5:35 am, and after ten hours, 7 hours 59 minutes being actual riding time, pulled into my parents' driveway. This ride was everything I thought it would be: fun but extremely challenging at times. Now, almost 17 hours after beginning my journey, I'm home and ready to call it a day. I'm pretty sure I'll sleep really, really good tonight.

Where I rode to today I'm pooped. After 84 miles and 5 hours in the saddle, my body is saying enough. I've always wondered exactly where my threshold is, and today I found it right around mile 75. At that point, my quads where tired, tight, and aching. Even with the wind helping me from behind, I couldn't find the energy to muster a speed above 18 mph. I think part of this was not eating enough as I rode, the other part being battling the wind for 40 miles. The combination of the two pulled a one-two punch to make my body say okay, let's slow down and call it a day. I would have, but I still had 9 miles to go until home. I read recently that when a person rides a century, the 85-90 mile mark is the wall, much like the 18-22 mile mark is the wall for marathoners. The longest distance I've ever ridden is 62 miles, so I figured my wall might come sooner than 85. It did. At that point, I pulled out a fruit and nut bar to eat and drank some water. I slowed down some...

After church, then after lunch, Hubby and I suited up for a ride. With the sun shining, which at this point is a real treat after all the gray, clouds, and rain, I said there was no way I was going to let the day pass without getting a long ride in. Hubby rode with me to the edge of town, about 6 miles. He even kept going another quarter mile, until the wind hit us full force at a good 20 mph. At that point, he smiled and turned around, telling me to have fun. I was determined to get 40 miles in, so I continued on into the wind for another 14 miles. For this part of the ride, my average speed hovered between 14 and 16 mph, depending on windbreaks. And there weren't many of those with the fields still bare after a long winter's sleep. At the top of one small rise, I stopped to take in a field blanketed in purple. I tried to take a picture with my phone, but the camera just couldn't do the field justice, so I just stood there, admiring the scene. On the way back, I cringe...

Tomorrow at this time I should be able to say thumbs up or thumbs down on a sixty mile ride. Hubby is joining me again this weekend. Hopefully I'll remember my phone so if I need to call him I can. Hopefully he won't go out looking for me and we unknowingly pass each other. Hopefully I can do the full 60 miles. Forecast says rain, wind, and cool temps. Not quite sure how I feel about this. This time tomorrow I'll know exactly how I feel about this.

stayed plastered on my face as well as on everyone else's who was riding today. Just a great day for a ride--cool, sunny, a slight breeze, a few rolling hills. At the end, brats and beer awaited us, along with chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, pumpkin cookies, and lots of other cookies. Sitting in the beach house, watching all the other riders laughing and talking about their adventures on the routes made me so glad I decided to do more with cycling. My next ride is a week from today, Sunday the 19th, and my goal is to complete a metric century. I think I can do 62 after feeling really good today after 40. I thought I might be more fatigued. Maybe it'll actually hit me tomorrow sometime, so I guess I should hold off on saying exactly how I'm feeling. Right now, all's good. Tomorrow may be a totally different story. The biggest funny from today is me and Hubby passing each other like ships in the dark. Hubby did the 25 mile route. After getting back, he dec...

Well, not real long but long enough when the hills and the wind are factored in. I rode 31 miles early this morning. I had seriously considered going for another hour or two, but after ten miles of wind in my face, keeping my downhill speed to a mere 15 mph, I decided to call it a ride. My legs said muchas gracias, and even my shoulders said ahhhhh when I pulled into the driveway. Had a first on this ride, too. A skunk ambled its way across the road, and by the time I skidded to a stop, it was less than ten feet away. In horror, and with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I waited for that burst of stink to cover me. Thankfully the critter just kept on going, paying no mind to me whatsoever. I let out a long breath, got back in the saddle and high-tailed it out of there. What a moment. I haven't decided if I'm riding tomorrow. I want to, but I kind of feel like I should take a day off. I found a training program I'm thinking of following to see if I can increase my...