Woke Up Early for the Fourth

Today's Early Morning Tracking

I woke up at 4:25 AM this morning and had to get up to pee.  Since I've been wanting to start getting  up at 5 to ride I thought about going back to bed for another half  hour, but realizing I'd never wake back up in time to do anything but go to work, I decided What the Heck and saddled up for a ride in spite of the hour.
What  great idea this turned  out to be!  What with the early hour and it being the 4th of July, there was  almost NO traffic to dodge or otherwise deal with.  The temperature was right at  70-ish, nice and cool.
I got going right at 5AM and figured I'd see how far I could ride in an hour and then turn around.
I actually made it all the way to the Bosque Trail and rode south on that for about a mile  before my hour ran out.  After about 5:30 several other cyclists  popped up on the radar passing by, celebrating their holiday likewise.
Retracing the  ride back to base, I noticed a flashing bright-white headlight  heading toward me.  As it eventually approached closer to me I was shocked to  realize it was another TRIKE rider.  A single seat Catrike Expedition, unlike my 2-seater Terratrike, but you just don't see that many trikes out and about.
We both  pulled over to exchange  pleasantries and swap lies.
He casually mentioned he'd just  returned from an 800-something mile ride from Albuquerque to Houston to  see his grandson graduate.  I realized HE was the guy who made headlines in the paper recently for this stunt.  He's one of the hard  core riders for sure.  We visited  for 15-20  minutes, greatly exceeding my desired time for today's outing.  But it was great to visit with him and see all  the other cyclists coming  and going.
There also was a proliferation of hot air balloons taking off as the sun arose, totaling at  least 20 or so by the time I got back to a good shower, shave, and clean clothes.

Ride Started: 5:03 AM    Ride Ended:  7:21 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 13.2  Lowest:  12.9
Lowest Temp  59 F      Highest Temp:  75 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  11.55
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
   5.4 MPH                            6.5 MPH                       19.5 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
2 hours 19 mins                    1 hour 55 mins                 24  minutes