Now That Was Scary!

I operated purely on routine this morning.  I was up minutes before the alarm rang.  I got ready purely out of habit … in fact, I don’t remember any of the preparations.  They were simply routine.  I dressed warmer than the conditions called for because Mike and I were riding a slow, easy pace before tomorrow’s 200 mile ride.  More clothes means I didn’t have to exercise hard to keep warm.  It was dark, which suited me fine as I rolled easily toward the Rusty Bridge with barely a coherent thought.

Suddenly, from the right side of the trail, a bunny dashed across in front of me, turned abruptly and ran along the left side of my front wheel for about 10 feet, then abruptly dashed off to my left.  For that brief time when the bunny was inches from my wheel, I was convinced I was going to hit it and was already tensed for the fall.  My heart rate spiked.  I had to work at calming down.  I used up my luck for the day within the first mile of my ride.

After this scare, the rest of the ride was uneventful, even if I remained hyper-alert.  Five of us took it easy, so easy that we were passed by a commuter!  We talked about long upcoming rides.  Most of the ride is a blur.  I’m hard pressed to even remember details about key intersections.

Today is the turning point in terms of sunlight for these parts.  Sunrise was 6:57.  Sunset is 6:57.  Tomorrow the sun is below the horizon for three minutes more than it is above the horizon.  It was a nice sunrise though.

This Ride: 22.2 miles
Malaria Campaign: 2,091.5 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,131.26
Contributed in support: $2,453.60

Total = $3,584.86