A Squnny will Wake You Up!

I’m not sure what it was this morning.  It was hard to get organized to get out of the house for a ride.  Usually I’m out of the house between 5:15 and 5:20 pretty consistently.  This morning it was closer to 5:30.  I’ve built in enough time so that I still make it to the Rusty Bridge with time to spare … it just influences how many miles I get in before meeting up with the group.  I was still blurry eyed when the “Squnny” dashed across the trail in front of me.

I’m absolutely convinced it was a mutant critter.  As I posted last week, bunnies run along the path of the bike and then usually dart off the path, rarely in front of the bike wheels.  Squirrels tend to dash straight across the path.  This critter had a furry powder puff tail and yet dashed across the trail about a foot in front of my tire.  It was a little slower than a squirrel and much more decisive.  (Squirrels often change directions or stop with great indecision.)  This creature is upsetting the natural order of things, and as a result, brought me to full alertness for the remainder of the ride.

There were nine of us out this morning, two on fixies.  I changed things up this morning and rather than riding my fixie, decided on the geared bike.  I’m getting tired of climbing the hill on Askewton on the fixie.  As it turns out, it was a good decision for me.  We had a quick pace this morning and I set a personal best time on the Askewton hill climb (without intending to).  That was encouraging at the end of the ride.  At the south end of the trail the group split.  Bryan set out for extra miles toward Sandy Point.  Several others decided to ride the wall.  They’ve been watching a lot of the Tour de France, or something.  Chip, Clint, & I headed back the usual way.  Conversation ranged from personal to the incident in yesterday’s stage of the Tour de France where someone threw tacks on the road and 30 punctures resulted.  We tried to think of another type of racing where race leaders would slow the pace down and wait for other riders to catch up, but couldn’t think of any.  Cycling is quite the unique sport.

I noticed near the end of the ride that my day’s average speed was much higher than expected.  I worked to keep it high, and climbed the last hill home with some purpose.  When I plugged the numbers in, I discovered that I had my third fastest time on the gentle climb home.  The day’s average speed was 17.7 mph, not bad for a Mosey Monday!  It is also the perfect way to start a work week.

I’ve been asked a couple of times recently why I post these rides on a (near) daily basis.  There are two reasons really, both have to do with accountability.  First, this is a way to declare that I am riding and there are people who will “call me out” if I’m not posting or riding.  It is a helpful motivator.  Secondly, it does serve to encourage some others in regular exercise.  I don’t always feel like getting out on the bike, and yet because I do … it makes it easier for some others who follow me to also do something.  In any event, this is working for me, so I’ll continue.

This Ride: 21.7 miles
Month: 163.1 miles
2012: 3,118.8 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,972.4 miles