Another bike ride

I headed off on my bike at 6:15 am this morning to find the Mother's Day Classic assembly point. I had a vague idea of its location, and thought I'd better find out how long it would take me to ride there.

I dressed up in my new bike gear. I wasn't sure how warm I'd be in the jacket, so I took my ecofleece jacket with me just in case. I bought the new jacket for the wind and it's also going to be useful when it rains. That's if I happen to be crazy enough to be out on my bike when it's raining. Well, I made it two blocks before stopping to put on my ecofleece. After about half an hour I was really warm, but I didn't take any layers off. When I got home, the new jacket was damp on the inside, and there was a layer of moisture on the outside of my ecofleece. I guess I should have de-layered.

I navigated my way across town. I rode on the road some of the way. I'm not sure I should be doing that as yet. I don't think I'm safe, ie, I don't think I look around me properly. Fortunately, there weren't many people out and about that early in the morning.

Once I was safely on the bicycle path I felt a lot more relaxed. I travelled to where I thought the MDC was starting, and discovered something that looked possible. When I headed home again and re-examined the course map, I realised I had been in the right place.

By the time I'd investigated and remembered to look at my watch, I'd been out for 28 minutes, so I should be fine if I allow half an hour to get to the venue and park my bike. I checked out options for bike parking. There didn't seem to be much and then I realised that I could secure my bike to a tree. I was busy looking for a bike rack!

I rode back along the lake, enjoying the trip. The day had well and truly dawned by this stage. There were people out rowing on the lake, along with runners, walkers and other cyclists. I managed to spook any number of birds. The scenery was lovely. I think I'll have to go riding at that time of the morning for fun once the challenge is over.

I noticed that I was doing a lot more 'riding' today. I seem to spend much of my time coasting along rather than pedalling, which isn't the best way to burn calories. Today, at least I felt like I was putting in a real effort.

One amusing thing happened. While I was breathing my glasses were fogging up. I tried breathing out through my nose, and the effect was reduced, but I couldn't keep that up for very long. I think I'll have to ask around to see how other people cope with that, as I can see it being a major problem as it gets colder.

I arrived home after 53 minutes, feeling very happy with myself. My backside was a little sore, and I was too hot, but I figure I'll get the details sorted eventually.

As for the rest of the day, I did some incidental exercise, moving stuff around the place. It was good to see how easily I did it. All that gym work is definitely paying off.

Tomorrow I have the Mother's Day Classic, followed by a trip to Qld. I'm going to be away for a week, and I'm not planning to take my laptop with me, so I won't be blogging. Well, unless I think about the job applications I should be writing and my sensible side gets the better of me.

If you don't hear from me, I'm sitting on the beach, having a lovely time. If you do hear from me, I'll tell you all about the beach. :-)