This December has been pretty sweet as far as weather. We here in Michigan aren’t exactly getting the warm sixty-ish degree temperatures that some of the east coast states are getting, but for these parts in December, forty degrees and no snow is just as good, and in many ways my rides have felt more like those done in late fall and early spring rather than winter. Having said that, I feel the need to add: THE SUN COULD SHINE ANY F*CKING DAY NOW!!!
After Sunday’s foggy ride, I took Monday off the bike but not off from “doing stuff.” I forced myself on the treadmill for 3 miles of sprint intervals and to do my feeble attempts at strength training with the weights which is about as fun as root canal. Tuesday I headed back out onto the dirt roads for a short ride which was again enveloped in a misty fog.
With the first singletrack ride on the Procaliber under my expanding belt on Saturday, I decided to take it out for a short twenty-six mile spin on the dirt roads north of town on Sunday. I was warned that I might not like how the bike rides on dirt roads, mostly due to its gearing, and as it turns out, I didn’t like it–I loved it and found the gearing a non-issue.
Wednesday, it’s just like Monday except it’s not.
It seemed like forever since I was last out on my bike; in truth it was a week exactly. Betweenst those two rides was a holiday week stuffed with travel, too much food and not enough exercise. Thankfully all that is over with now (at least until Christmas) and I was able to get out for a ride on the Fatterson Sunday to help kick-start some much needed calorie burning. I know, I know, it’s like pissing in an ocean of bubbling fat, but you gotta start somewhere! I guess.
I admit it, my Friday night consisted of making Mexican food, hanging out with Wifey, having some drinks, watching bad TV (those Tiny House f*ckers!) and going to bed late. Despite all that, I was up early and feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. But it was only 7 AM… on a Saturday… and it’s football’s international break, so there are no BPL matches to watch… so I went back to bed.
For me, a slack forty-four year old who is currently training for nothing other than to not drunkenly kill over whilst on the crapper, riding three days in a row is not only strange, but sort of an effort at times. Yeah, I know, I’m not exactly setting the world afire with my speeds and distances, I’m not doing intervals, hill repeats or anything that stupid resembles a hardcore training regime, but I’m still riding at a “comfortably hard” pace (in between photos), a pace and structure that is often referred to as “junk miles” by racers and coaches that give a shit [foreshadowing, ask me later]. And sometimes my crap body feels it.
What-evs, with today being Veteran’s Day [thank you Vets], Wifey was off from work, but B-Man was at school. Part of me wanted to stay at home, draw a hot bubble bath full of love, and nakedly lounge around being all lovey dovey with my bosomy, ginger haired gal-pal. BUT, the other part of me wanted to get out for a ride of a different sort on the Boone.
Why can’t we do both? [TMI? I thought so, sorry].
After windy, crap ride on Saturday and a Sunday-Sloth Day, it was nice to start off the week with a ride on the dirt roads and not feel like I wanted to take a freaking hostage or lie down in the dirt and wait for a ten ton tractor to run me over.
I am pretty lucky in that, if nothing else, my current [real] joblessness affords me the ability to get out to ride on weekdays in between dad/husband duties and occasional freelance projects. While lucky, those rides can often be rushed or limited in length due to said responsibilities. Soccer-free Saturday’s usually are a bit more relaxed and allow for longer rides. THIS Saturday was not one of those days.
In many ways, the Thursday Ride Was much like the Wednesday ride; most of the roads were getting a fresh coat of deep, power sapping dirt and gravel. However there were a few things that made it different, yet still wildly uninteresting or blog worthy…
