Today’s ride was really enjoyable. That about sums it up. However, if you’d like to know why, then do keep reading. I promise it might not thrill you.
Still here? I’m impressed.
The weather report on the old Google phone lied. Lied hard with a vengeance. It said rain, pretty much all day. However, being the good boy scout that I am, I used all the skills I learned whilst obtaining my observation badge to peer out of the window and deduce that it was, in fact, not raining!
Sadly, it wasn’t exactly warm either, at just 11c, but you know what? I’ll take it.
And so off I went.
The weeks been a mish mash. Each week I set myself the goal of riding 100km. As I haven’t been able to ride the usual 5x this week, AND because I’ve had issues on one of my rides I wasn’t sure if I’d meet the 100km goal this week.
Anyway, I set off knowing that if I did >30km then I should meet the 100km riding goal, regardless of how arbitrary a measure of progress that actually is. I picked a route that was largely off the main roads, down the nice, quiet, and very scenic (and farm smelling) country lanes, along with giving me the option to divert and extend the ride, if I felt like it.
And feel like it, I did.
However, I diverted down the wrong road and ended up doing a route I wasn’t originally intending to extend onto. But not to worry, it was a nice ride all the same.
I think partly this one was enjoyable because, after all the crap that’s happened this week, everything seems to have worked out as of about midday yesterday. So really, I didn’t have a great deal of worry or whatever on my mind. I could just ride, put in whatever effort I desired, and simply enjoy the headwind experience.
There were a few points today where I felt I should stop and take a photo, knowing this blog post would be somewhat devoid of life without such a snap. However, the other, more vocal part of me felt that if I did stop, I might seize up and struggle to get going again. After a while, I find I get into a very natural rhythm, just turning those pedals over and over. But if I have to stop, whether for traffic lights or a road junction, or whatever, I can often really struggle for a minute or so after to regain that form. Also, all the scenic spots were at the bottom of hills.
All that said and done, I managed 38km, putting me at 107km on the week. I’ve got some other writing to do today, mostly on Zwift vs The Sufferfest, though that’s a work in progress. And I have the weekly review to write, where I shall cover some of this again in more depth.
But for now, it’s time to put my feet up and relax for a bit.
