Will We Get Rained On?

Vicki joined me and Pete today for a ride at Bullis Park. We had originally planned on the 37 mile loop, but the weather was threatening rain and we decided the smarter choice was a shorter loop staying closer to the truck. My back was sore and I was not ready to get back on the bike. Honestly, I'd secretly been hoping to wake up to a torrential downpour so we couldn't ride. Vicki was sluggish this morning too, so we were all in the same boat and ready for a slower, or at least shorter, ride today.

I got on the bike and my sit bones ached. Not my normally ache, but true pain. Not a good way to start a ride. We stopped at the stop sign and I adjusted the padding of my shorts to better cover the saddle as they should. I climbed back on and went to clip in with authority, but slipped and my soft tissue pounded down into the nose of my saddle. Ouch! That cleared any thoughts of my sit bones aching and off we went down the hill.

Pete took off to pre-test a hill and I clung to Vicki's wheel. I was doing a darn good job of it and keeping my cadence up when we came upon a low water crossing with a steep incline to get out of it. I started shifting and knew I needed to get into the small ring. The shifter wouldn't work and I kept shifting down the gears as I tried to get into the small ring. Suddenly, I was out of gears, out of momentum, and came to a stop in middle of the hill with an "oh darn!" Vicki disappeared and I walked the rest of the way up. I still couldn't manually shift to the small ring, so as I noticed the road was more flat, I hopped back on and hoped I could get it to shift before I got to the next hill.

Eventually, the road started up again and I ran out of gears still unable to get to the small ring. I stopped and tried to get the chain to shift to the smaller ring, but it just wasn't happening. Then I had an idea and shifted gears to a different cog hoping that would change the tension on the chain and then I could shift to the smaller ring. Still no luck! About that time Pete and Vicki were returning down the hill and stopped as I announced "I'm stuck in the big ring!" Pete came over and I showed him how when I pushed the lever to shift it wouldn't go far enough to shift. Pete pushes the shorter lever and the chain jumps to the small ring. Duh! Apparently you have to actually push the correct lever for the chain to shift to a different ring. So much for being one with your bike. It didn't know what I wanted it to do!

Together, we rode up to the bakery and the school. The wind and the humidity slowed me down quite a bit, not to mention my low energy level. I took a break at the school and was ready for the hills of Amman Road. Plus, I know once I get up those that I get to enjoy the downhill of Leroy Scheel.

As I enjoyed the downhill, I hit a small hole in the road and the bump gave me an instant headache. I slowed down when we went over the low water crossing and told Pete I needed a break at Specht Store. I got off the bike and started to see stars. I decided that I didn't have enough in me to get up the last hill back to the parking lot today. I sent Pete ahead as I camped out at a picnic table and awaited my retrieval. While sitting there, I actually got dizzy too. I ate some dried apricots, finished my Gatorade and drank lots of water.

Not the best day of riding, but I did enjoy the cooler weather of 75. Now if we could just get the humidity to drop. I need to be better about taking allergy drugs so my sinuses are more clear for the rides too. Hopefully the rain will pass quickly and we can ride the rest of this week.

Goals
Today's Miles: 14.2
Total Miles Achieved: 693.6
Financial Investment: $1947.13
Total Weight Loss: 0