the ride looms
It's just under three weeks to the MS Bike ride, and yeah, I'm getting a little nervous. I mean, I think I'm pretty much ready, but it's all still an unknown quantity, so I expect to be a little nervous, until I actually do it.
I wanted to ride with the folks from work this weekend. Our team had a scheduled training ride on a route with two options. You could do a smaller 40 mile trip or a longer 54 mile trip. I assumed we'd all be doing 54 miles. After all, the ride really is getting close, and we'll be going longer still. I woke up (at 5:45) to the sound of pouring rain on the roof, and the wife asked if I was reconsidering. Nah, it might just be an isolated thing, and it might be fine where I was going. I fired up the computer and checked the local weather radar and it did look like an isolated thing, so I got dressed, put all the bike stuff in the car. The rain had stopped, so I took the dog out. I headed off for the ride, and noticed a lot of little rain clouds all over the place. I got out of the car at the place we were to meet, and the wind was howling...out of the east.
Everyone was standing around, waiting for the rest of the group to show up, discussing the route and the weather. Everyone except me had pretty much decided on the short route, but some were undecided. We had a rest stop about halfway through, and the turn for the short route came after that, so the decision could be deferred. We started west, which was pretty easy. The wind was at our back and there was no rain. The pace was great for me...about 19-20 miles an hour. I can honestly say I really enjoyed it. Then we got to the rest stop. I got to talk to some of the people I didn't really know. It was nice. Then we started talking about going back...into the wind. Then it was apparent. Everyone but me wanted the short route, so we got to the place where you had to turn one way or the other, and I left them. Yeah, the wind was nasty. Yeah, it might start raining. Those things might happen in three weeks too, though. Granted, most of those people have done this before, and maybe they have a better sense of what it takes, but I haven't, and I don't. I'm training with a touch of anxiety, and I want to make sure I'm going to make it.
In the end, yes, the wind was nasty on the trip back. There was one place, in the middle of farm land, where I turned off one county road heading south onto another heading east, and it was in the middle of nothing...no trees or buildings blocking the wind. It was like hitting a wall, but I got through it. I got drizzled on twice, but it was just drizzle and I got through that too. I got back to the parking lot as the last of the rest of them were leaving. There has to be a God, and he has to be looking out for me a little bit, because about two seconds after I started the car and headed home, the bottom fell out of the sky and it started pouring.
I wanted to ride with the folks from work this weekend. Our team had a scheduled training ride on a route with two options. You could do a smaller 40 mile trip or a longer 54 mile trip. I assumed we'd all be doing 54 miles. After all, the ride really is getting close, and we'll be going longer still. I woke up (at 5:45) to the sound of pouring rain on the roof, and the wife asked if I was reconsidering. Nah, it might just be an isolated thing, and it might be fine where I was going. I fired up the computer and checked the local weather radar and it did look like an isolated thing, so I got dressed, put all the bike stuff in the car. The rain had stopped, so I took the dog out. I headed off for the ride, and noticed a lot of little rain clouds all over the place. I got out of the car at the place we were to meet, and the wind was howling...out of the east.
Everyone was standing around, waiting for the rest of the group to show up, discussing the route and the weather. Everyone except me had pretty much decided on the short route, but some were undecided. We had a rest stop about halfway through, and the turn for the short route came after that, so the decision could be deferred. We started west, which was pretty easy. The wind was at our back and there was no rain. The pace was great for me...about 19-20 miles an hour. I can honestly say I really enjoyed it. Then we got to the rest stop. I got to talk to some of the people I didn't really know. It was nice. Then we started talking about going back...into the wind. Then it was apparent. Everyone but me wanted the short route, so we got to the place where you had to turn one way or the other, and I left them. Yeah, the wind was nasty. Yeah, it might start raining. Those things might happen in three weeks too, though. Granted, most of those people have done this before, and maybe they have a better sense of what it takes, but I haven't, and I don't. I'm training with a touch of anxiety, and I want to make sure I'm going to make it.
In the end, yes, the wind was nasty on the trip back. There was one place, in the middle of farm land, where I turned off one county road heading south onto another heading east, and it was in the middle of nothing...no trees or buildings blocking the wind. It was like hitting a wall, but I got through it. I got drizzled on twice, but it was just drizzle and I got through that too. I got back to the parking lot as the last of the rest of them were leaving. There has to be a God, and he has to be looking out for me a little bit, because about two seconds after I started the car and headed home, the bottom fell out of the sky and it started pouring.
Labels: It's all about me
John put this out here at 7:00 AM
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