Best "Ride" This Week

With all the riding (hiking counts, as well, thus the quotes) I'm trying to do over our four week challenge, I thought it would be fun to put some thought into what my best ride was at the end of the week.

This week my best ride was probably my first ride of the week. It was slow to get started. Anthony, Davan and I were supposed to do Anthony's favorite ride, a 34 mile ride with plenty of ups and downs in and out of the Sandy River basin. However, Sunday dawned cloudy with wet roads and a forecast for rain at 9:00.

I was up for just going, but Anthony had a bit of a cold and, it came out later, really just didn't feel into it. Davan woke up and came out with a frown, saying that her legs felt kind of week. I felt rather betrayed! We were supposed to ride! I wanted to go for a real ride on my new bike! Anthony, at the time, said, "After breakfast."

When breakfast was over and he hit the couch instead, I took maters into my own hands and, after checking to see if Davan wanted to go, went by myself. By this time, after our late breakfast and a little bit of yard work, it was afternoon. The day was lovely, but definitely a crisp fall day. Long tights and a jacket were in order.

I went with Anthony's Garmin bike computer to help me find my way. I'd planned on taking trip notes on a piece of paper, but Anthony set me up with the Garmin and it was pretty awesome. No fumbling with notes no concerns over if I'd missed my turn. Nice gadget.

I love, love, love Sassy. She's my new bike. You can tell I love her because I named her. I'm not overly big on naming things usually! She was fun and comfortable to ride. Of course, I still had to work on the hills, but I felt much faster overall than the last time I'd done the ride on my touring bike.

The fall colors were great, the traffic was light and I was very glad I'd gotten out there. Because I was riding by myself, I listened to my book on tape while riding, which, while some would frown upon it thinking it dangerous, is one of my favorite ways to ride/walk/run/do chores. I keep it pretty low volume wise and never have a problem with not hearing traffic, so I feel pretty confident about using it.

The whole shebang took me less than three hours and I was home in time to pick up Anthony and Davan for a short, flat family ride before our evening engagement. Great ride. Now I'm feeling motivated to get out there today. It's another sunny, crisp fall afternoon. I think I may have company rather than my MP3 player, though, as Anthony has been itching for a ride, as well. Perhaps my best ride of the week will have been posted too soon!