Been riding much?

Nope.

Saturday was a great day to ride with a 54F start and lots of sunshine leading to a nice 68F finish temp. I got a late start and had to work to catch the group; however, since I left late from the house. It was more diet issue than lack of planning that led to me leaving later than planned, but I was able to "hold my own" during the ride thankfully. I opted to head straight out Russell Parkway and catch the group coming out that way since that was the direction I was told they would go, but apparently no-one else got the memo. So..., I had to push from the get-go at 22-25, into the wind none-the-less, to latch on in Byron.

When I finally got within 1/4 mile of Byron on Houser's Mill Rd, I could see the yellow seat of BK's bike but no-one else around. Can't say how much I enjoy riding with BK since we work well together, but today it was right when I needed it since my warm up had been in the HR red zone for 35 minutes. BK said the group was no more than 5 minutes ahead, and he sat on the front blocking for me until I could recover a bit. We caught the group a few miles later in the hills and from there it was an outstanding ride. BK and I worked most of the ride keeping the group as organized as it could be and we both spent a lot of time pulling stragglers back to the front. Kim was not feeling well but was a trooper for hanging in there to finish.

I wound up with just over 75 miles and a 17.6 average. Could have been much better, but it was more about the ride and the people with me than a training goal for this ride. I enjoyed it more than worrying about training for the BAF in April that is over 160 miles. If I've learned anything from all the hard rides I've done, the one thing that matters most is knowing how many times and how long you've gone into the red zone of your HR and knowing that it will take 10-15 miles of normal riding out of your legs each time you stay there for 10 minutes. At least that's what happens with me.

Today, I should have been riding since it was about 70F outside, a gorgeous clear, blue sky, and a huge ride event coming up in less than 7 weeks. But......alas I had to go to Cordele and race the wife's Miata in an auto-cross race. Heehee! BK actually showed up at the end of the race with Tonya since they were out riding the motorcycle and rode down to Cordele so she could see where we raced once a month. Diana was invited and encouraged to go with me as well to race today, but NOOoooooooo!!!!!!! She wanted to stay home, cut her hand while preparing her breakfast, go to the emergency room to get five stitches, and then go ride 30 miles on a bike with Dave and Carrie. And, she cut her hand AFTER I'd left and been gone for over an hour.

At this point, I should express how I feel like a piece of crap and should provide excuses for my not being there for the wife. But, she's tough. Hell, she's put up with me for over 15 years so she must have a higher tolerance for pain than a serrated steak knife can provide. Right?

Apparently, the bagel she pulled from the freezer and was attempting to slice in half required a tad more force since it was still frozen in the middle and she just had to separate it to toast it in the oven, so she held the bagel in her hand and attempted to slice it in half. I must be rubbing off on her 'cause only I do stupid shit like this. Glad to say that no tendons were severed, not fingers were lost, and Steve (owner of Prinnie-Mack Coffee Co. and CGC Club sponsor, and Physician Assistant) sewed her up in the ER and sent her out into the cycling world to conquer road and rogue canine alike. The wife called me to inform me of all this after she'd been sewn up of course.

When I arrived home from my excursion of tearing rubber from tires and sacrificing engine life for the good of my adrenal cravings, I discovered that the pain killing meds given to the wifey had worn off. Egg shells gentleman. Eggshells.

A raiding we will go, a raiding we will go. High-ho the merry-O a raiding we will go! Into the medicine cabinet of course for those happy pills we never take all of but never throw away since we may need them some day. Like...................today!! Vicoden, Oxycontin, drool inducing meds from the pharmacy that will make her sleep is what we need! BINGO. She's a-sleepin now for sure. At least until the happy pill wears off and I'm up stumbling over dogs in the dark to go find another one. For her.

I guess at this point it would be remiss of me to even state that I did fairly well at the auto-cross event and was able to post times better than cars/drivers that should be handing me my ass on a silver platter. Winning is great most days, but today, like yesterday, was more about the time spent enjoying what I was sharing with others than trying to piss an inch further than the next idiot.

Sometimes it's just about the ride and not about how you got there, or where you end up.