Happy belated St. Patrick's Day to everyone! Hope everybody got some good green beers in and had a fun and safe weekend. I celebrated my weekend with a little unplanned training outside. Now, I still can't run, but in a week I can hopefully write about my first run since surgery. However, after taking my final exam for one of my Master's classes on Saturday morning and letting the morning storm roll through, I was able to get out and get in a ride. The weather was magnificent. A bit windy, but who can complain about a little wind when it's 70º and sunny?
Saturday was a decent ride, I was able to get out and put in just under two hours of pretty solid riding. I was feeling good, and was able to push my knee a bit. It never felt weak or out of place. I got in a few half-hearted sprints, still not quite ready to push it all out, and spent some time in aero position. It was interesting to ride, because I decided to try out my wife's bike, which is an Orbea Ora. Now, she's about the same height as me, so I only had to do a few minor tweaks to get the bike to fit properly. I'll write up a good review about later this week.
I was so ramped up and ready to ride all weekend. Every time I was out in my car driving, I saw people out biking. It's hard not to get excited to throw on your own cleats and hit the pavement. It was so great seeing so many people out getting at it in such beautiful weather. It gives me hope for everyone! Get outside!
Today I had a little more free time, so I took on a longer ride. Around 100km is the course I take to get up and around Lake Geneva, WI. I try to vary it up so I never hit the same roads every time. This time I was just taking my time, trying to avoid the wind. In the open cornfields of IL and southern WI, it's almost inevitable. So I had to buckle down and just push through it.
The ride itself was beautiful. The temperature was hanging around 70º again, so I couldn't complain. The wind was at my back on the way up, so the first half was pretty fast. Once I'm around the lake, there's lots of up and down. The hills are tough, and they keep coming at you. You may think you can carry your speed down and around the corner, but you shoot right back up and the hill sucks all of your momentum out of your wheels, and it's back to grinding away.
I was really happy to get this second ride in, until I hit about mile 50 or so. There's a long, open road I travel down that is unavoidable, and I was out of water. A few times I was almost at my breaking point. Nearly pulling it all in and calling for a ferry ride home. But I got to a point, about 8 miles from home or so, and I pulled off, remembering there's a hand pump right near the river. It was my little oasis in the middle of the desert. I pedaled over to the edge and jumped off my bike, pumped a few times, and was ecstatic to see the water spout out of the fountain. I washed my face quick and filled up my bottle, then hopped back on and headed home, with renewed spirit.
After getting home, I was so happy to be eating food and get my legs up in the air. Though this wasn't my longest ride, it may have been mentally my toughest. Running out of fuel is terrible, and the feeling of nearly bonking is no fun either. I was running on fumes, and was able to make it home. A cold shower and some good helping of Ultragen, and I was starting to feel my body coming back to life.
Hopefully our weather keeps like this for a while longer and doesn't get too hot too soon. But I won't hold my breath on it either way. It will probably snow this week. That's life near the windy city for you! Check out my post later this week on what I feel is great about the Orbea Ora.
-Dave
Comments