I brought plenty of water and packed 2 individual packs of raw almonds for my 1/2 way point snack. I dressed warm and I was ready to go!
The ride on the city streets to the greenbelt was busy and no so fun, and it gave me a great shot of the 2 hills I have been afraid of since I moved here. Whenever I saw a cyclist ride up them, I called them crazy. I knew today was going to be my day to join the crazies, and joy of joys, it was going to be when my legs were tired from riding 40 miles. But I had a couple of hours before I had to worry about that.
Finally I reached the greenbelt. My legs were feeling very sluggish today. I wasn't sure I was going to make my 12mph limit, but I just did the best I could do. When I got into Julia Davis Park, I was greeted by this beautiful creature:
How can you be anything other than happy when you get to see a Giraffe while you are out riding your bike?
Back on my bike, I kept on pedaling to the half way point. There are parts of the greenbelt that are VERY bumpy and are not fun to ride on. My tush hates those parts! Finally I made it to the midway point and hopped off my bike to sit on a rock and relax a bit while I ate my snack. I was so grateful for the time off of my bike.
Snack time over, it was time to get rolling again. Back across the bumpy path. I think today was recumbent bike day. I saw like 5 of them on the green belt. I wonder if those bumps on the path would be easier to handle on one of those things. I also saw this bike that I think was a tandem bike that was customized for this lady. She was sitting in what would be the back seat of the bike but she had control of the bike and in front of her was a storage platform where she had a big ol' plastic tub sitting and her big dog was in side of it. I want on of those! Too cool!
Finally I made it to my lunch stop! My Fit Foods. This is a chain of grocery store/healthy food places where you can buy prepackaged (refrigerated) healthy meals to either take home or cook there in the microwave and eat. I chose the Hawaiian Chicken; it was yummy!
While I was there I got to talk a little bit about why I am riding my bike and training. I think when I throw my huge fundraising shindig, I will ask them to donate something, bring samples and have a booth there :).
Anyway, after my lunch, I had 10 more miles to go. I put my feet on the pedals and just got moving. I wanted this ride to be over with. This is the first time I felt like riding my bike was work. I blame it on 2 workouts yesterday (a 6 mile walk and then an hour at the gym where I also did cardio and leg stuff). My legs were toast before I even started my ride today!
Then on the last 4 miles of my ride, I had 2 very steep hills to ride up. I have seen people ride their bikes up them and thought they were crazy (and amazed at how fit thy were)! I have seen people get off their bikes and walk up those hills; that is exactly what I would have liked to have done today. But, where I would have been if I had quit? Nooo..gotta keep pedaling. The first hill I came to, I passed a family and when they saw me riding, they cheered me on. "Look at her go! You go girl!" That gave me the boost I needed to make it up. I wanted to show those kids that everything is possible with a little hard work. The 2nd hill, I passed a man riding down and I thought to myself, "He is gonna have to come back up...or maybe he already has and is enjoying his way down..but either way he knows how I feel." He smiled at me as we passed each other. Once I made it to the top, I realized I am one of the crazies now!!!
Oooohhh..I just checked my email and Runkeeper (which is the app I use on my phone to keep track of my time and my activity) sent me this:
"Congratulations!
This is a RunKeeper FitnessAlert to let you know that you achieved the following milestones with your most recent cycling activity:
- Farthest distance
- Biggest elevation climb
- Farthest distance in a month
- Longest duration in a month
- Most calories burned in a month
- Fastest average pace in a month
- Biggest elevation climb in a month"
I guess Runkeeper thought I was "crazy" too. My elevation gain today was 2,072 feet!!! Go me!!
One last thing before I close today's blog. There is a topic that has been on my mind ever since I started riding bikes or even running, but it really hits home when I'm on a bike. It's so important, I had to make a video:
Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must take off these biking tights and make sure I have that blasted stinger out of my leg!!!!
Thank you for following me in this adventure! To find more information on the Fuller Center for Housing, the Bike Adventure, or to make a donation to my $2000 goal, please click here.
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