After Sunday’s short, miserable windy ride, I had little desire to do anything but what was required of me as a father, husband, and human being on Monday. I did what I had to do, and got it over with… sort of like me in grades 1 through 12.
Best Left Unrode
I’m on a streak of late. Sadly it’s not a good one. This streak has included one of two things: not riding, or shit rides. The past three days, the streak continued.
Reintroduction Therapy
I hadn’t been on the bike since last Tuesday; a full eight days that seemed to include everything but riding my bike. Many of those days had weather that was more like early March than late April and May, so I don’t feel like I missed out on too much, except the opportunity to burn some calories as I attempt to shed my muffin top.
Pig in The City
Tuesday marked one week since I last rode my bike. It also marked the last day I broke a sweat doing anything other than breaking a fever (or wind). The days that weren’t marred by illness were marred by heavy rain, high winds, or traveling for B’s soccer matches. And the days not marred with any of those things, were marred by a much dreaded, mentally crippling overnight trip down to Chicago to hang out with Wifey for a night while she was away at a work conference.
Counting My Losses
After last Tuesday’s ride, the rest of the week was lost to illness and shit weather. Thursday night I finally got more than 2 hours of sleep, as a result I felt the best I had in days on Friday. Not “let’s go for a ride” good, but good enough to catch up on some adulting, then hang with B-Man and Jake (the dog) in the yard of the Cul-de-sac Shack, capturing some of the backyard nature that can be found around our home with my camera. Due to a complete lack of doing anything, all of today’s images are from that afternoon of backyard slack.
Wallowing
As I mentioned here in my last digital dispatch of dystopian cycling life, I appear to have contracted some sort of allergy. Since Tuesday morning I’ve been dealing with itchy eyes, sinus pressure, a scratchy throat, clogged ears, coughing, endless streams of snot, and a bright red nose that only goes to further the general public’s assumption that I am some sort of jobless, beer drinking scoundrel.
Alas, it’s taken me two days, and two sleepless nights to finally admit; I don’t think this is an allergy, I think I’m ill. If it’s not illness, it’s one bastard of an allergy, and the trees from which the pollen spores fled should be burnt to the ground by hordes of torch wielding warriors on horseback, Game of Thrones style.
The Letdown Ride
Monday’s 45 mile ride was one of the best rides I’ve had in 2017. Everything just fell into place; warm, but not too warm, low wind, good legs, and a great attitude. Tuesday’s ride… not so much.
Firsts of Sorts
After an OK start to last week, the riding sort of petered out; first due to weather, and then to a hectic soccer schedule that included two games on Saturday, lots of driving, and 14+ hours away from home. All that stuff was good of course and I eventually got out to ride Sunday, and both soccer and riding allowed me to bag a few firsts.
Stories To Tell
I didn’t plan to ride on Wednesday, but Thursday’s weather looked to be (and is) about as inviting as a rain-soaked, paper bag full of dog excrement, and I wanted some miles in, so I did a short ride. To my surprise, the world unfortunately plodded on, the house didn’t collapse, and no kittens died due to my 1.5 hours on the bike doing a Better Than The Trainer Ride™.
However rural Michigan did continue to provide entertainment for me, as well as make me sigh, shake my head and wonder about the state of our society, all while burning a few calories and getting some miles in. Beats watching The View in my underwear while eating raw cookie dough.
Loop Reversed
I got out yesterday for another go at the new-ish 37.5 loop that I concocted, this time in reverse. It was a bit colder at ride time that I would have liked, and even with a base layer the man nips were on full blast. Cool, but it sure beats riding in full on winter gear.
Only 16 of the 37.5 miles are on dirt roads, but dirt roads are dirt roads, and I’ll take what I can get during a ride.