Just What the Doctor Ordered

I went to bed uncertain, looking for any kind of excuse not to ride.  I woke up in the middle of the night to rain.  I almost turned off the alarm, but that would have meant waking up more than I really wanted to, so I left it alone, resolving to stay in bed.  When the alarm rang, I checked the radar, and the rain was gone, and wouldn’t be coming back during the morning ride.  I hauled myself out of bed, still undecided.  It was Wednesday … Wicked Wednesday.  I didn’t really want to go fast.  I resolved to ride my own pace alone, got dressed, put on a fender, and headed out the door.

On the way to the Rusty Bridge, I stopped no fewer than 3 times to adjust the fender.  It must be getting to gnat season.  There were clouds of gnats on occasion along the trail.  It was always a surprise because my lights didn’t illuminate them so suddenly there they were, hitting my face and dotting my teeth.  By the time we collected everyone there were five of us.  We had an easy pace, and no one seemed interested in hammering today.  In fact, Dan said he was kind of glad that the young guys weren’t out this morning, because they worked him hard yesterday.  We climbed the hill in Round Bay.  We rode easy and talked the whole way.  Chip and I talked about our next absolutely crazy plan … that is coming together nicely.  (Ride an overnight 200K from Stevensville to Salisbury for the Seagull Century and then when that is done ride back to Stevensville for a 315 mile day on a brand new route designed especially for that long ride.)

In the end, I’m glad I drug myself out of bed for a nice ride.  Anyone I meet today will likely appreciate it too, even without knowing it.

This Ride: 23 miles
Month: 315.9 miles
2012: 1913.7 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 15,767.4 miles