Gray clouds all week but they broke briefly for our one bike ride before the Central Lakes trail. Traffic was uncharacteristically light going through St. Paul where we headed for a 20 mile ride on the Gateway trail. The temperatures were cool; I actually wore a hoody for most of the ride. There were way too many rollerbladers on the trail. Fortunately for us they were on the final leg of their trek and we were just starting out.
We were in the groove last night. More uphill going out means downhill coming back. It is so exhilarating when you're humming. I really felt one with the bike. It's amazing to me how you can shut out the world around you when you are focusing on one physical task. Last night I tuned into my pedal action; thinking at first about each stroke then moving eventually to just an automatic cadence. This doesn't happen with every ride.
But let me also complain about our bike. Will worked on the brakes today so we don't come into stops with the customary shriek. Nice. However, everything else on this bike makes noise. Maybe if two lightweights were riding it would be fine but with us the seats creak! Now we also have a noise in the back crank. Will thinks it just crap falling off the chain from the silicone spray he puts on the chain. Whatever, it drives me crazy. And drives him crazy because I complain about it all the time.
We were so focused on the ride that we hardly noticed wildlife. We did see an egret and were serenaded by frogs. You really have to be there to hear the different frogs calling back and forth. There were more horses than usual on the bridle path lending an aromatic smell to the woods.
We ended up the night at 299.9 miles for the season. Didn't think fast enough to go that extra .1 to round it off.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
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