Sleep last night was restless and sporadic. So, when the alarm went off this morning telling me to get up and ride, I went back to sleep until 8:00. I didn't get on my bike until nearly 9 am. Which ended up being just fine. The air was unseasonably cool for so late in the morning on an August day. Just cool enough that I was glad to have brought my arm warmers.
The first half-hour of my ride was the working portion of the ride. Sub-threshold work. I had a hard time getting my heart rate up there, but once it was up, it didn't want to come back down during recovery. I wonder if this has anything to do with how low my resting heart rate was this morning: 41 beats per minute! I actually saw it dip to 40 bpm a couple of times, but didn't figure it could be right, so I'm sticking with the 41 number.
After the hard work was over, I went into la-la riding mode. At some points in the ride I would suddenly remember I was riding and wonder how I got to where I was so fast. Totally not paying attention! I have a lot of stuff on my mind right now. Then I started looking around at the beauty of the day. Here's what I noticed:
- A flock of some black water birds (ibis?) flying above me in V-formation.
- A group of three vultures sitting in a dead tree, nervously watching me-like they were planning my demise.
- A whole field of Canadian geese. I wouldn't have noticed these if I hadn't been looking.
- Looking across the field is the lake, shining blue in the sun, and beyond that the valley is surrounded by tall, purple and gray mountains.
One the way home, I decided to stop by The Bike Peddler for an adjustment on my rear dérailleur. I had changed out my hanger a few days ago, and today I noticed that some of the cogs were noisy while I was riding. I got to the shop a couple of minutes before they opened. So I put my bike in the rack out front and went to sit on the rack to wait for them to open. I didn't know the rack wasn't bolted down. It threw me. I caught myself before I landed on my butt. I felt really stupid when I looked through the shop's front window and noticed the shop guys inside. I don't think they saw me fall since they were all sitting on the floor fixing a computer. They let me in, dropped what they were doing, fixed the problem (no charge), and I was on my way again. I can't state enough how much I love this bike shop! It's one of the few shops I've been to where a I can walk in and get treated with the same respect I would be treated with if I were a man.
Anyway, I probably won't be posting for a few days. I've got some family stuff I need to deal with for a while. Also, I'm sad to report that I won't be seen at the Tour of Utah until Friday. I'll miss it! I've looked forward to (ok, let's admit it - I've been super excited about) volunteering for two years, and I won't be able to be there very much this year. For all of you riding in the tour-GOOD LUCK (I'm hoping the Utah All Stars kick some butt)!!! For those of you who are lucky enough to be able to volunteer most the days - HAVE FUN and I'll see you on Friday!
2 comments:
Sorry about your family stuff. I wondered where you were today. I'm going to have to give Bike Peddler a try. You mean they didn't try to sell you a four inch thick saddle and a camelback?
Hey looks like some of the team is going for dinner after stage 3, hook up with us! I miss you!
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