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05-18-09, 01:09 PM
My birthday was on the 9th (54...ugh!), but due to the weather suckin' I postponed my age ride until last Saturday. It actually looked worse than the week before, but I said "what the hell" and just went with it.
You know how sometimes when you go out, you feel superhuman? When you can just ride all day and at the end feel like you could do it some more? When you can conquer hills with a smile on your face and laugh at the wind?
Well, this wasn't one of those days....
First off, I didn't sleep well. I am an insomniac sometimes, and to top it off I had this buzzing sinus headache that just wouldn't let up. Secondly, I had a cup of coffee and a muffin with jelly, grabbed a few power bars and hit the door. As I am a bit hypoglycemic, I should have eaten a more substantial breakfast!
I had about ten miles before the 3-mile climb up the mountain and I was not feeling very peppy before that. Made it to the top and stopped for a power bar and some water. That was past my first "bail point" in case the weather got stormy. I made it another 9 or ten miles to the last bail point at this store just before the 3 mile downhill on the other side. Looked pretty stormy, but I went on with it. On the way down the mountain (50 mph on a Big Dummy---yeehaw!) I passed through the tail end of a rain spell and emerged into a beautiful sun-drenched valley.
The valley was about 20 or so miles long with only rolling hills, but I was going against the wind the whole time. I was pretty spent by the time I hit the highway. I was drained by the time I made it home and chowed down like a madman. I was kinda bummed by the sub-standard time I had, but I guess that's the breaks. At least I made it.
Laid down and napped for a couple of hours, then got up and went to my gig with my rock-n-roll band for the rest of the night. Turned out to be a good day after all! It must have just been "one of those days" because I woke up Sunday feeling great.
You know how sometimes when you go out, you feel superhuman? When you can just ride all day and at the end feel like you could do it some more? When you can conquer hills with a smile on your face and laugh at the wind?
Well, this wasn't one of those days....
First off, I didn't sleep well. I am an insomniac sometimes, and to top it off I had this buzzing sinus headache that just wouldn't let up. Secondly, I had a cup of coffee and a muffin with jelly, grabbed a few power bars and hit the door. As I am a bit hypoglycemic, I should have eaten a more substantial breakfast!
I had about ten miles before the 3-mile climb up the mountain and I was not feeling very peppy before that. Made it to the top and stopped for a power bar and some water. That was past my first "bail point" in case the weather got stormy. I made it another 9 or ten miles to the last bail point at this store just before the 3 mile downhill on the other side. Looked pretty stormy, but I went on with it. On the way down the mountain (50 mph on a Big Dummy---yeehaw!) I passed through the tail end of a rain spell and emerged into a beautiful sun-drenched valley.
The valley was about 20 or so miles long with only rolling hills, but I was going against the wind the whole time. I was pretty spent by the time I hit the highway. I was drained by the time I made it home and chowed down like a madman. I was kinda bummed by the sub-standard time I had, but I guess that's the breaks. At least I made it.
Laid down and napped for a couple of hours, then got up and went to my gig with my rock-n-roll band for the rest of the night. Turned out to be a good day after all! It must have just been "one of those days" because I woke up Sunday feeling great.