Headwinds. Pedestrians in the bike lane. Cars making right hand turns (10 feet in front of me). Potholes. Butt soreness. I experienced all these things and more during today's six hour workout. Because I want you to experience the pain with me, I will detail each one...
First the headwinds. The wind was whipping at about 15mph, with gusts at about 20mph. If you've never experienced riding your bike in strong winds, it's kinda like having someone try to pull you backwards as you're trying to move forward. And then there were the winds that come from the side; those ones try to knock you right off your bike. The wind lasted the entire length of the workout.
There's a section of road during the ride I go on each week and you may even know it: Danville Blvd. right in front of San Ramon Valley High School. People sell their cars there. And prospective buyers peruse the onslaught of what I think should be, illegally parked cars by standing, walking and wandering in the bike lane. I can't tell you how many times I have almost hit someone as they carelessly backed up to get a better look at their dream car, and step exactly into my path. Annoying.
At around mile 43 I had the (dis)pleasure of riding next to a woman who wanted to make a right hand turn into a soccer field parking lot. The problem was that she was oblivious to my presence. As she turned, I had no choice but to turn with her, otherwise I would be riding on top of her hood. For all you drivers out there: please keep an eye out for cyclists--in the event of a collision, you will always come out the victor!
So I'm riding along minding my own business right around mile 56 and BAM! My entire body is jolted because I have failed to see a pothole the size of...well, a pot! And the annoying part is that it's not a hole that has formed because of bad weather or corrosion, oh no...it's a man-made hole for drainage or something. How someone could think placing a hole in the middle of bike lane as a good idea is beyond me! It's like purposely tripping people as they're running.
After five hours sitting on a bike seat, I think the butt soreness speaks for itself. No explanation needed!
The amazing thing about today, was that after enduring all of the above, I felt absolutely great...well, except for a sore ass! I ran 4.2 miles after my 68 mile bike ride and nothing hurt! So either I'm imagining feeling good, or I'm actually getting stronger. I think it's the latter!
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