Shoal Creek Sunday Stroll

After taking a weekend off, I got back in the saddle and went on a 23 mile easy ride with my friends Judith and Alicia. We are all training for the Hill Country Ride for AIDS at the end of April, but we have a lot of work to do before then! Last year when i was training for the Tour de Cure, I had a gym membership and was getting in about two spin classes during the week. That is one thing i'm really missing, but unfortunately don't have the extra cash for a membership. So, I'm thinking about asking to borrow a trainer from another friend of mine. She's a tennis player, and i'm doubting she would miss the trainer for a few months! (btw, for you who are not cyclists, a trainer is a device you can use in your home to ride your road bike inside like a stationary bike)

So today we intended to meet up with other HCRA riders, but we missed their meeting time as we were trying to get in about fifteen miles before meeting up with them. Although, after we rode past the parking lot, there was not a single car with a bike rack, so we guessed they didn't end up riding. Anyways, we did a big loop up Shoal Creek from my house until we hit the access road for 183, then turned around and rode all the way down until 35th St where we turned onto Bull Creek and took that back to Hancock. Hancock, then hooks us up with Shoal Creek. We did that loop twice, and it's a fairly flat ride, so for my current shape, it was a nice easy ride. We were able to average about 13.8 mph, which is a little faster than we had been riding (mind you there was only one or two hills on the loop!). It was a lovely stroll on a sunny day, and I was happy to be back on my bike. I was feeling kind of down last week and didn't feel like riding- what a mistake! I forget how much I love getting in the saddle and how it lets me really get out of my own head. Being good cyclists, we never ride with headphones (that is just not safe people!), and with the wind in your helmet, it's kind of a nice white noise to coincide with the rhythmic pedal strokes. Almost meditative, really.

I got home and enjoyed my chocolate milk recovery drink, and now that it's been about an hour, I need to eat a full meal! Here is a pic of me right before the ride: