On the road again!

I finally got back on the bike today after 3 months; I haven't been out biking since my triathlon in October. I decided to try to do about a 20 mile bike, as one of the groups that have some "structured" training plans had a 22 mile bike scheduled for this weekend. I heard about this great website called "Map My Ride" (http://www.mapmyride.com) that does just that; helps you to map out some routes, tells you the mileage, etc. After mapping out my first route, I got out the bike equipment (including my new bike shorts; thanks Grandpa! =) ) and headed out.

Things started off with me turning the wrong direction out of my subdivision. =) I was also having some issues with my iPod; I forgot to turn Shuffle on, but prevent the motion Shuffle from happening, and the volume was just a little too low once I was actually out on the road. (Don't worry, I only keep one headphone in; my left ear can still hear and pay attention to traffic. ;) ) And then about a mile down the road, my pant leg started getting caught on one of my spokes, even though I specifically tied it close to my ankle before beginning. But once I got all these minor issues taken care of, I was on my way!

The first 8 miles were down Hwy 96; overall, the road was pretty good for biking. There's a hill just past Hwy 3 that gave me a bit of a hill challenge; I've decided I'll try to make a route for myself on that hill, just going back and forth a few times, to get a hill workout later in my training. Otherwise, there were nice large shoulder the entire length of the road after Hwy 3, so no major traffic issues. Hwy 146 was also decent; the shoulder was not as large as 96, but the traffic was a bit lighter. And I was able to speed up a bit on 146, because the wind was more at my back; that was nice. =) The final leg was Hwy 646; at this point I was about halfway through and still feeling pretty good.

Around 15 miles, though, I became very thankful for my biking shorts; my butt started to get sore. But overall, it wasn't that big of a deal; I knew I was almost done. As I continued down 646, I started considering whether or not to stop at a friend's house, who lives right off of 646, to take a quick potty break, or just push through til I got home. Well, the universe made that decision for me...

Along 646, once I had passed I-45, I was riding on the sidewalk. that portion of 646 is under construction (I don't know if I've ever known that road to NOT be under construction...). I suddenly notice that a ~10ft section of the sidewalk just does not exist. It ends abruptly at one point, is just mud for 10', and then starts again as if nothing happened. So I think fast and just barely come off the sidewalk into the grass and begin guiding myself back towards the sidewalk. However, I was too concerned with dealing with the immediate gap that I didn't pay attention to the general path of the sidewalk as it continued; it began turning to the left. So as I came back up onto the sidewalk, I tried to quickly turn my bike to head to the left...but my momentum was too much for my balance/control. I went straight over the sidewalk and into the awaiting mud puddle...and sank down about an inch.

After putting one foot down in the mud to keep myself from falling (also sinking that foot into the mud, I pulled my bike back out onto to relative safety of the sidewalk. Unfortunately, from pulling the bike out of the mud, a bunch of mud had collected at the forks of my bike and the wheels were fighting the friction of the mud. I cleaned it off the best I could and tried to set out biking again, but the mud was just too much. I could either call James to come pick me up, and "wuss out," or I could do my best to get to Jes' place and hose down the bike. I chose to Be Tough!

Thankfully, Jes was home and she helped me spray down my bike and my shoes, allowing me to make my way back home the final 4 miles. This short break, however, must have been an indication to my body that it was done; prior to the break, I was feeling fine, no muscle soreness, able to maintain 13-15 mph. Those last 4 miles were killer; my legs felt like they were shaking, and it took everything I had to keep up 10-11 miles an hour. But I made it home, and rewarded myself with a nice hot shower...and then a Big Mac from McDonald's. =D

Until next time!