Humble Lions Bike Ride

Today I went out on another group ride, the Humble Lions Club Bike Ride. This ride benefits handicapped and diabetic children, which is a great cause! John is a great friend and decided to join me on this ride again, even though it did require him to get up before 6am on a Saturday morning... And James, of course, was a trooper too, for coming out with us and not even riding! Just wonderful moral support. =)

Today's ride was a BEAUTIFUL ride! I commented to John only about a mile or three in that this was far less traumatic than our first ride; the weather temp was around 50 today, I believe, and only mild wind. And the sun was shining! So it made the ride so much more pleasant; I said "good morning!" to all the officers directing traffic for us, and chatted up various riders as they passed (and John too, of course!). So overall, a much better experience this time around. =)

The route itself was pretty flat, and so with the minimal wind John and I were able to keep up a pace of around 17pmh on average. On one downhill portion, John managed to actually get his bike up to 30mph! That's a bit fast for me, I think I'd be quite scared...though I think I got my bike up to 25mph (I was definitely over 22 on one of the downhills...)

This ride was my first ride with my bike shoes, too! Overall, they were great! I can honestly say though, right now, I don't notice any specific difference. =) Unless between that, the no wind, and my spinning class, that's all made me able to get up to an average 17mph. ;) My one misadventure for the day was the fault of these bike shoes; however... After our rest stop ~12mi, I had taken off my gloves because I was warm enough by then. John noticed one fell out of my pocket (and I must have lost the other somewhere else...) and so turned around to get it. As I was slowing down, I couldn't unclip from my pedals! I tried and tried, multiple times, to no avail. Finally, I ended up too slow to stay upright anymore, and finally my bike literally just tipped over. I'm sure it was quite the funny site to see. =D I landed on my wrist and shoulder, which I am sure will be unhappy with me tomorrow, and luckily as I fell my foot FINALLY unclipped from the pedal. I'm fine, and the bike as a whole is fine (there a scratch on the outside of my right pedal now, though...a battle scar in tribute to my failure ;) ). I think after the ride now, though, I've become much more comfortable clipping in and out of the pedals...so hopefully it won't be quite so bad next time!

Just under 2 months til I bike to Austin!!!