YTD – 997
MTD – 44
I come to you tonight from the Midway International Airport. Ingesting Heinekens and trying to play a little blog catch up. Personnel changes at the office have left me at least temporarily swamped. Throw in an all day training out of town that came to pass relatively on a whim and it is in the weeds for me.
I did manage to ride three days last week and it felt as if winter had come for sure. I added one major upgrade – a balaclava hat from a friend at work, and one minor change – a bootleg North Face jacket I picked up in Shanghai two February’s ago. I am sure its official…
Monday was a rain-out and a friends birthday as well so it was a no-go.
Tuesday was nice in that at least the sun was shining. I bundled up and headed towards Jeffersonville and the Howard Steamboat museum. I started a little cold and I wasn’t for sure if I had dressed correctly. About three miles in the cold had subsided and it felt pretty good. As I turned away from the river and down Utica pike toward JeffBoat I really felt like I was cranking it. I looked down and confirmed about 22 MPH in the flats. Whew, it felt great! When I turned around at the 8 mile point and began the return I finally figured it out – wind. Going back the same flat return I was bogging down to about 13-14 MPH. It was a little disappointing….but riding in such proximity to the river it is to be expected I’m sure.
Thursday after a trip to Chicago I left work a little uncertain about route but thought it best to head up toward Silver Hills. I intended to lazily head back down to the river front but had a late change of mind and set out for the Highwater Road/Budd lane column but in reverse direction from normal. Tim and I joked about the last section being a white knuckle ride coming back down and going up it was a beast. It brought me to my knees….well at least to my feet to walk my panting self up the last portion of the short, very steep climb. I encountered the dog that gave me chase a few days prior and he was up for it again…this time I was ready and stomped it right past him. It surprised me that by the time I was done I was under the mileage I expected but it was a solid 15 miles.
Friday found me with minimal motivation but I still got out for an easy 12. I had quite a bit on my mind and the break was good. It was 45 minutes well spent. This week looks like it may not have many chances to ride. It will probably be time to break out the rollers and give that a shot. My Dad hooked me up with a super blinky red light to attach to my seat bag. It will nice to be more visible.
