Gone Riding

Peter had a dentist appointment this morning so I decided to get myself up, moving and out on my bike. It's amazing how many things you have to do to get ready for a long ride. Make sure your chamois shorts and jersey are clean, eat, drink lots of water, get dressed, make sandwiches, pack up your trunk bag with sports drinks, bars, and your sandwiches, fill your water bottles, make sure the coffee pot is off, walk the dog, load up your jersey with camera, keys, wallet, phone and ipod, unlock your bike, tighten the stem, oh wait, run to the bathroom one last time, load up the bike, lock the garage, and your off. Oh wait, crap, I forgot my helmet! Ride back home, get helmet, and n-o-w...you're off!

Peter and I have Thursday and Friday off which is really nice for riding...well, it's nice for everything, actually. It's nice to be able to do things without crowds. This morning, the Springwater seemed extra quiet and about 7.5 miles into my ride I see why. A huge stretch of it is closed. "Okay, no need to panic," I think. "I can follow the detour signs. No problem." I'm a a little scared because I don't have the greatest sense of direction. When I get lost, I rely on Peter to help me, but he wouldn't know where the detour is. But, okay, just follow the signs. I set off down a gravel trail and already start to question if I'm going the right way. The cute cat below came over to see me as I rode up a hill so I stopped to take a picture. She had beautiful blue eyes. Too bad she blinked.

As I'm bent over taking the picture of the cute cat, a road biker passes me. I quickly put away my camera so I can follow her. And follow her I did. When she turned left, I turned left. When she stopped to pick up her bike and carry it across a muddy, messy section, I did the same. I wasn't being a wheelsucker or anything. I kept a good 20 foot distance, but when we stopped at the bottom of a hill to wait for a light she turned around. "I'm going to be turning left up here at the next light to go home," she says. "You want to keep going straight." Woops. Guess it was pretty obvious I was following her. That was awfully nice of her. Knowing me, I would have probably followed her all the way home.

The next little stretch was hilly and didn't have a bike path so I was happy to get back on the familiar Springwater again. When I passed the I-205 bike path I decided that I was going to go back home that way and avoid the whole detour thing. Powell Butte was just a hair under 15 miles so I stopped for a peanut butter and homemade blackberry jam sandwich. I had been standing up and pedaling to stretch my back every 5 miles and I was pleased with how my back was feeling. My stem was doing it's job and felt much better after I'd tightened it.

The next section of the Springwater is my favorite. It's smooth with few roads to pass and you get to ride past sheep, goats, and horses. Sometimes you see some peacocks. I didn't today, but I did see a scrub jay and a mallard. At 20.1 miles I turned around. It felt like my back was ready to head home.
I stopped again at Powell Butte and called Peter while I ate my second sandwich, this one with honey. It's amazing how just stopping and resting for 10 minutes can really rejuvenate you. The rest of the ride home was pretty easy. My body was tired, but I could have done more. Great feeling. When I got home I sat down on the kitchen floor to stretch and snapped this pic of my dog watching me. It's not a great pic but you can still tell how cute he is. So, that was my ride. It sure was nice to get a break from the rain today and get some miles under my belt. RAGBRAI here I come!