Tuesday Nooner Ride

See where Today Took Me...

I drove to my normal parking lot where I lock the car and un-rack the recumbent to ride the last 7 miles to work..... Sarah Jo, my daughter, who often meets me there (since she catches her city bus transfer at the nearby bus stoppe) called me on the cell phone as soon as I parked and rushed over to tell me she had missed her bus due to her first bus down Comanche had been late and thus got her and fellow riders too late to catch the next bus.  She hinted at wanting a "Dad Ride" so she could make it to work on time so I gave her and another strap-hanger a ride up to Jefferson and Osuna/San Mateo, making it too close to MY work for a decent bike ride.  So I drove on to work and then took a 13-mile (almost 7 miles each way) ride down to the Bosque during my noon hour.   I get so many comments from non-bikers (and too many bikers) that "You're crazy for riding in this heat" or substitute "Cold" or "Wind".  If I stayed off the bike because of weather forecasts that are more often wrong than right, or because the heat is in the 90's or higher, or the cold is in the teens or lower, or the wind.... I'd miss out on literally WEEKS of wonderful riding weather.
I got such a comment today from a ham radio friend who normally only exercises in a gym and rarely in the out-of-doors.  I wish he'd have been out with me so he could see how great it was.... it was warm, but the breeze made it feel just right.  YAY
It is always a great ride along the Bosque trail.  Most of it is along the irrigation ditches and the Rio Grande, with tall cottonwoods and verdant vegetation all around with a real disconnect from the noise of the roads and highways.  I stopped at a shady park bench under several huge cottonwoods and ate my power lunch before riding back:  Peanut Butter 'N Honey Sandwich
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7         Ending Voltage: 12.6
Noon Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles: 13.64
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.3.  Mph                          12.2 mph             24.5 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
  1 hour 19 mins               1 Hour 7 mins       12 mins 16 secs