March Madness

Kevin and the gang did the Chappell Hill ride yesterday and it was a butt-kicker - a hilly course with a strong wind on the way in.  Sadly for me (or perhaps not ...) my bike was in the shop for some preventive maintenance so I had to pass.

I planned to take a gentle run around Terry Hershey and George Bush this morning, with a view to a longer ride with Kevin on Sunday.  I didn't set my alarm, expecting to sleep in until a reasonable time.  When I woke up it was still dark but I felt pretty good so got dressed and got going.  It was only after I'd started the coffee and turned on the radio that I saw it was only 5.45!  Hence the seasonal madness...

I took the lights off my commuter, put them on the newly-maintained, freshly bar-taped, new-chained Madone and set off down Memorial.  The donut shop was baking, a very enticing odour but their coffee isn't up to much.  By the time I hit the Dam the sun was more or less up and we were off to the races.

A fair amount of traffic (bicycle and runner) on the trail but everyone knows the drill and keeps to the right when you pass.  I had a good run all the way to Highland Knolls, under grey skies with the occasional splash of rain.

On the way back I kept pace with another rider, a young woman who was cooking along pretty well.  At a convenient point I moved ahead and cranked it up for the last half-mile of George Bush.  She hung with me and we exchanged smiles when I eased back and she passed.

The day was marred a little by a very rude rider on a 29-er mountain bike.  He blew past me while I was waiting for some other riders to come through a gate, then after I passed him (calling out "on your left" very loudly) he went by without a word.  Very rude, very dangerous, very obnoxious.

I finished the ride on Terry Hershey rather than back down Memorial, basically to take it easy and wind down a bit.  Wildflowers are out in full force!