After about 30 minutes of prep work, both myself and Ivy were ready to hit the road in the brisk but sunny weather. Pedaling through the neighborhood, it felt great to be back in the saddle. Although there was a trailer hooked up I could still tuck the bike through corners and the feeling of man and machine reminded me of how much fun it is to ride.
Leaving the neighborhood we got out to one of the side streets that could take us over to a little park down the way. A steep,but very small hill gave me my first opportunity to stand up on my pedals and do my best Lance Armstrong impersonation. A few side clicks of my shifters and I was hauling that kid trailer up that hill like a pro. Pretty much flat from there on out to the park.
After the park, I decided to take us a little further out where I knew there was a Subway so that we could grab some lunch. A little throwback to STP I suppose. While at Subway I picked up an extra bottle of chocolate milk to take home. Another throwback to STP, but i knew that i would need a shot of protein after the ride as part of my muscle recovery. -If you've read up on post ride recovery, you'll know how good of a drink chocolate milk can be.-
Leaving Subway, I decided not to take the same route home because riding a bike on the sidewalk was just a little slow for me. Instead i rode out a few more blocks down so that i could take a road that had a dedicated bike lane. There i was able to push my legs a little bit more and open up the throttle so to speak.
Despite not having ridden in over 4 months and hauling my child the entire time I was very pleased with my average speed i was keeping on the surface streets. Entering our neighborhood i could feel my legs began to warm up and start complaining, so I did what ever other rider does for the last few blocks of an event... push it even harder!
Pulling into our driveway all those feelings of accomplishment and success were pouring through my head. I was thrilled to have such a good start to my training and to have gone such a distance for my first ride!
That was, until I looked at my phone.
I had MapMyRide running the enter time and as it turns out, the entire length of our trip was 3.89 miles. At that point in time the reality of training for another double century sank in.
3.89 miles is a great step to 188 or so right? Listen at least you were out there riding. My day consisted of nursing a hangover and napping, with a little time at the gym. GOOD FOR YOU!
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