I stole a bit more time to ride around today and got a few more miles under my belt. The weather was cool and cloudy but it was decent riding weather. (It started sprinkling later after the sun went down and I was already safely home.)
The hardest part of the ride was the long slow climb west to the Post Office where I picked up the mail, of all things. I then rode back east past our turnoff down to the 4-mile loop around Entranosa and Mountain Valley Road. I had to be home no later than 4 PM so we could attend our church Christmas Party and I hoped to make it by 3:30 or so to allow a bit more time to clean up and change clothes.
I was watching my handlebar-mounted clock so I could turn around wherever I had arrived by 3 PM and get back.
Again I drove the recumbent 2-wheeler down to the pavement, as the goat-path drive is still a tad muddy.
The sun never really showed itself today but it wasn't freezing, just cool enough to keep the 3 layers on for the first half of the ride.
When I got to the Post Office I was fairly well warmed up and took off my windbreaker outer layer while I went inside. I was still warm when I remounted the bike but I knew the mostly downhill mile or more going back east would produce my highest speeds of the day's ride as well as the highest wind chill, so I put the windbreaker back on for those next couple of miles. After leveling out I began to get warmed again, even a bit over heated. I stopped and removed the windbreaker for the rest of the ride. I got a little too cool for several minutes during the ride around but the absorbent wicking-fabric inner layer kept me dry and mostly comfortable. I was passed by a couple other cyclists so I wasn't the only crazy rider out today.
Man, did it feel GREAT to be out getting the old blood circulating again. Every time I go through one of these gaps in regular riding, and start riding again, I am reminded why it's so wonderful to ride a bike. Even though I get tired and winded, after the first few miles I just feel so ALIVE and energized. Supposedly internal endorphins are released into the blood stream during aerobic exercise, leading to mild euphoria or just plain feeling good, in my case.
I arrived at the halfway point of my desired loop with a few minutes to spare, so I was able to continue the full loop without having to shorten the ride by turning around early.
Ride Started: 1:47 PM Ride Ended: 3:28 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.4 Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp 46 F Highest Temp: 49 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 12.93
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.4 MPH 9.5 MPH 28.9 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 44 mins 1 hour 21 mins 23 minutes
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