Bugs In My Teeth...

FINALLY! We have sunshine!! It's supposed to be short lived, but hey, I'll take it! At least it was on the weekend rather than when I'm chained to my desk.

I went out for a ride yesterday AND today and it was absolutely brilliant. I'm still giddy.

Yesterday I went on my own and was smiling so much I got bugs in my teeth. I am not complaining though because a) it was warm out enough for bugs and 2) I was OUTSIDE riding! Oh joy, oh rapture, unforseen!

I went riding north of town and saw a fair amount of cyclists. Always a good thing when you are on a solo ride. At least you know there are a ton of people about, just in case.

I saw my first prairie dog of the season, he was kind enough not to run so close in front of me that I'd have to hit the brakes or bail. Phew. You see, me and the prairie dogs in this area have an understanding. I will not run them over and they will only run out in front of me if there is enough space. It seems to work. Not that I would ever run over anything - I'm pretty sure I'd bail first. This troubles the parental unit. :)

I also saw a herd of mule deer. I'm not exaggerating about the herd part - there had to be at least 50 of them. It was an amazing site to see them run in unison through the farm field. Ahhhh, nothing better than being outside!

Today I did a similar route as yesterday, but rather than being solo I was with my buddy Richelle. I was stoked about riding with her as she is a very talented triathlete/runner. I wasn't sure if I could keep up, but thought she would be a great inspiration to take my biking up a notch.

I was able to keep up till we got to the first hill. Then I started losing her, but she was still visible so I wasn't too worried. On the flats I was able to chase a bit.

The whole time riding with her I could feel I was riding at another level. My legs felt strong, which is not bad considering I rode yesterday as well and wasn't slacking then. At about the halfway point I was starting to be able to keep up with her. I don't think I've ever ridden with so much power for an entire ride. It was like I needed an hour warmup or something, haha. Oh, I should likely add my average heartrate was about 10 bpm higher today than yesterday.

We hit some good headwind as we headed west, then it changed and we got it from the south. So basically the entire last half of the bike was battling headwind. At one point we were both riding on ~95 degree angles because the crosswind was so strong. It was insane! I will still say it's just Mother Nature helping me to be tougher on the bike!

It was a truly brilliant ride! It's rather indescribable how I felt today. Let's just say I think I'm making some progress on my biking. Not a huge step - I'm not going to be finishing the IM portion of the bike in IGs time or anything. I'm more hopeful though, unforseeable circumstances notwithstanding, that I won't be on the bike course as long as I was last year. Oh how I beg of the cycling Gods to make this so!

I must say, I was totally flattered when Richelle said she'd like to ride with me this season. I think it will be a great experience for me. I hope, too, that I will be able to help her with her season as well, in whatever way I can! What an awesome two days!!!!

Two days of riding, 5.5 hours in total, 146 km distance. Cool.

Peace out my friends.