Too Much Good to Write About Now That I’m Outside Again!

My backlog of posts and ideas for new posts is growing uncontrollably.  I’m all over the map, too.  From recovery to cycling to downloading, converting and installing routes on a Garmin (from incompatible files)… I’ve got a little bit of everything going right now.  Add to that, I’ve been able to ride outdoors for the last three days in a row (this evening will be four) and I couldn’t be in a better space mentally.  Physically?  Well, I’m working on it.  It was a long winter, folks.  I’m getting there.

The weather report on the way home yesterday looked promising.  I’d spent all day on the road visiting jobs and was heading home a little early.  I called my weekday riding buddy, Chuck on the way and set a time to ride.  I prepped my bike, wiped it down, and tended to some paint touch-up issues before getting dressed to go out.  I prepped my wife’s bike as well, with the hope she’d want to join us.  I suited up and headed out the door.  Mrs. Bgddy texted while I was on the way to Chuck’s house that it was raining just south of us so she was a hard pass.  I pulled into Chuck’s driveway four minutes later and checked the radar.  It wasn’t good.  Three hours earlier, they were expecting rain at 7.  It was right over us at 5.  The Weather Channel app only called for a light rain (and Dark Sky confirmed) and I was on my rain bike, so we rode anyway.

We had a southwest wind, pretty strong, and we were heading northwest for the first half of the ride.  Heading west wasn’t near as bad as heading south was going to be.  We rolled out and it was probably three miles before it started spitting on us.  It was very light, though, and at 61° (16 C) it was spectacularly beautiful after a long winter.  The ride was just shy of perfect.  A little misting rain every now and again, some intense drizzle a time or two, but for the most part it was just a bit breezy.  20 miles in and we were dry and smiling.  The headwind for three of the last four miles was brutal, but we muscled through it and sat up for the last mile.

I wore a smile the rest of the night, and good God did I sleep well.  Nothing beats being outdoors.  I don’t mind the trainer – I’ve made my peace with it, but nothing can match the feeling of well-being that comes with an hour of vigorous exercise.