Slowing Down to Enjoy the Day

When I arrived at the Rusty Bridge this morning, I announced to the group that I was doing the 5:47 ride.  The 5:45 ride on Thursdays is fast.  The 5:46 ride is for those who don’t want to press it hard.  No one has claimed a 5:47 ride before so I declared it as a relatively easy spin.  I immediately had one rider declare his intent to join me, and within a few miles, we had a nice group of four, and later five.  It was a nice morning to relax a bit.

We had fog and it was a very balmy 67° F.  Glasses fogged easily and frequently.  The fog shut down a lot of extra noise.  We maintained a conversational pace and talked mostly about upcoming rides.  The DC Randonneurs are hosting a 400k ride beginning Saturday and we have several people riding what may prove to be a very warm 4ook.  Mike C is planning a 200 k on Saturday.  Sweet Sue’s Memorial Day Ride is Monday (either 65 or 100 miles).  I’m planning a solo fixie ride across the Eastern Shore on Wednesday (about 115 miles).

I really enjoy the variety of rides we do at 5:45.  The fast rides press me into increasing my fitness.  The more leisurely rides are a huge social outlet for me.  I had an early morning meeting and I know I grinned pretty smugly when others were dragging themselves into the meeting grumbling about how early it was.  I had already been up for 3 hours, been on the bike nearly one and a quarter hours in conversation with friends, helped my spouse with some computer issues, showered and was alert and ready for the meeting.  Not a bad way to start the day.

I noticed this morning that although our pace seemed pretty easy, I still averaged over 17 mph for the ride.  My average heart rate was 124.  My speed continues to come up and my heart rate at these speeds continues to drop.  I’m always encouraged by that.

So … short answer to the unasked question.  Yes, it was a good morning ride.

This Ride: 20.2 miles
Month: 598 miles
2012: 2195.8 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,049.4 miles