Closing in on a goal

This Ride: 50.8 miles
Month: 876.4 miles
2011: 4,246.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,366 miles

My July 2011 goal is 900 miles.  I’m now a simple Friendly Friday breakfast ride into Annapolis away from that goal.  I don’t even have to do my regular Friday bonus miles.  Mike is using my miles as motivation to extend his distance.  He achieved 850 miles (his monthly goal) this morning on the ride into work.  Now he is talking about maybe 1000 for the month.

We had 10 people out for the Thrashing Thursday ride this morning, and right out of the blocks, Dave sought to establish a fast pace.  After a few hundred yards, I knew I couldn’t hold a fast pace at all this morning, and so hung back.  Mike C. also stayed back, and we rode together for the first 23 miles of the morning.  As soon as he headed home, I worked on my front gears, and finally got them working well enough to shift between the big and small ring and back again.  That hasn’t worked all week.  However, by the end of the ride, my cassette wasn’t shifting properly.  I’ll need to take the time later today to check all this out.

I continued around the river, taking my time.  I really struggled.  The humidity has come up and my legs are dead tired.  I was glad to finally get back home.

Highlights of the ride today?  I saw a fox cross the road just before dawn.  I didn’t flat when I hit something in the trail that popped out from under my tire with a report as loud as a .22 caliber gun being shot.  I worked out a noise in the bike.  It was the rear spindle needing to be tightened.  In the last 30 days I’ve ridden 919 miles.