FREEEEE!!!!

I hit the road, today, for the first time this year, and it felt SO good. Other than my feet, I stayed surprisingly warm-even my exposed fingers and face. I felt a little wobbly for part of the ride, but soon my wheels became straight and true. I feel like I’ve been on the spin bikes for so long that I’d forgotten what my own “Bella” feels like. Her pedal stroke is a little shorter than a spin bike, and the view feels much higher and more over the front wheel than a spin bike. Then there’s her seat. So far, I’m not sore from it, but tomorrow will be the true answer. Then there’s the new sunglasses and getting used to those. My Optometrist (who is also my Dad) says I’m right on track for my 40’s (“But I’m not there yet!” I objected silently). (Sigh.) These new sunglasses have a small prescription, where the ones I had last year did not. These have a fishbowl effect, where the old ones did not. These also allow a bit of wind in around my eyes. You guessed it. My old ones did not.

The ride was short (9 miles) and I started out strong and surprised myself when I looked at my speed, showing it was 18mph. I must have slowed down somewhere along the ride because my average speed ended up being 14.1 mph. Not as fast as I’d like it to have been, but for the first time out, I’m not complaining. I must have stopped to smell the roses along the way. I did get distracted by a couple of horse back riders, dogs, a flock of birds swooping from the side of the road to right over my head in one fluid motion. It was refreshing to only feel 2 bugs hit my face, compared to my last ride, where I came home covered with them.

I re-discovered that it does, still, take me a good solid 5 miles to get my breathing under control, but I also didn’t feel like I was struggling as much as I have in the past. Must be the great spin classes I’ve been taking.

9 miles, 38 minutes. 14.1 mph Average Speed. 21 mph Max Speed Total Miles on my bike: 1028.8. Temperature: 58° F