More Gloomy Weather

Woke up to another gloomy day today, not able to see the mountains because of the low clouds pushing up and over from the east. So far we have had little to no doing to speak of other than a couple of warm days here and there that were mostly out of the ordinary for the time of year anyhow.

Start With A Plan

My game plan for the day was to get up early and try to put some miles in before the rain started pouring down in the valley, leaving me with little to no chance of being able to go.

Sure I can cycle in the rain, why not? I have done it many times before and even in complete downpours where I was so drenched by the time I made it back home it looked as though I fell into a creek or lake while out. The worst part about it is that every nook and cranny of the bike not only gets wet, it also gets a nice layer of sand added in.

Not sure if the sand is from the wind blowing, construction or simply leftover from winter when they put it down on the roads to help the snow melt, keep ice from forming as well as provide additional traction for vehicles.

No matter the underlying reason, it makes a big mess of the back of my jersey and shorts as well as my seat bag. Then all of the grime that gets into and on the bike components requires additional work to clean. You never can quite get it all out either, well unless you literally stripped the entire bike down component by component and cleaned them. This is my preference honestly and how I maintained my race karts, motorcycles and related.

The bikes are a little different beast because even though I I have most of the tools and could easily buy those I don't have, I am still a little standoffish to do a testified as it seems a little intimidating for some reason, no good reason either. Probably nothing more than the fact I have not done it and once in there I know that I easily could.

The Spin

Although I did not make it out the door before 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning as I had hoped, I was out by 10:30 or 11:00 if I remember correctly. The wind was already blowing, though not as bad as it has been the past few weeks.

I figured I had nothing to lose and was going to go as far or as short as I wanted to and that my legs could take me. Whether that ended up being 10 miles or 100 miles, I was getting out there after four full days off the bike after completing the Specialised 1,225km challenge.

This break ended up being a great thing for me. My legs were refreshed and my mind was very much into the ride. Even with a sore right lower back after pinching it yesterday getting out of the car at Cicely's parents house for the graduation party. Yeah, stupid I know, it's how I usually pull, strain or piss off my back 9 times out of 10.

Anyway, all said and done I was able to put in just over 42 miles today and could have probably done another 10 to 20 more without much thought. I was feeling out of energy towards the end though that is not unusual as I had not eaten anything other than a Pop-Tart for breakfast and a cup of mandarin oranges. Then once on the road I had one GU chocolate packet and water otherwise.

The rain did come, though thankfully not until nearly 4:00 in the afternoon, a couple hours after I had been back from my ride, showered and ready to head over to Cicely's parents house again, this time to have some BBQ I think, unless they are planning to have us help finish off the sandwiches from yesterday.

That's It For Today

Time to finish up this entry for today. We are nearly to Cicely's parents house for some BBQ tri-tip, macaroni salad and other sides to go with it.

Once finished it's time for a cupcake and to chill out for a little while before the next thing we know the weekend is over and it's back into another workweek. Well after Monday anyway, I am using up some of my DTO and taking another day off . I may go ride the Steamboat ditch tomorrow, depends on the weather and if I feel like driving there.

Otherwise I will jump on the road bike and put some more decent miles in while I have the chance. Next weekend is planned to be more of the same I think as far as the weather goes. On the plus side it will be another 3 or 4 day weekend because of the holiday and if I take an extra day or not.

Photo: Neat yard art windmill that Cicely's parents have in their backyard. Zoey really likes it too!