Having too much fun!
This morning was it!
If I ever had to pick a day and a time that epitomizes why I love to ride my bike, it would be this morning. I was having a blast! The air was cool and still as I left home as dawn was breaking. I knew my body would feel good after a day of rest yesterday, so I jumped into the big chainring as soon as I hit Sunshine and stayed there when the hills would allow it.
Deciding to mix it up a little today, I climbed the 1.25 mile hill on the back side of Turners Station, then cut across at Four Corners/Logan so I wouldn’t back track on any of the same roads once I turned west to head home. I encountered my first dog chase of the year just across from the Logan Rogersville Elementary School, but neither of the two seemed to have any desire other than to make a lot of noise and chase me. After stopping to snap a picture of the sun rising above a notch in the trees, I headed south on our normal morning route to the high school and had a couple of pretty nice sized deer cross in front of me. The 2nd of the two was a buck that looked like it might have 4-5 points.
Sunrise
It’s hay cutting time, and it looked like most of the year’s first cutting is either on the ground or has been baled and awaiting pick-up. That area around the Logan Rogersville High School produces a LOT of hay. I took the longer loop around the high school, passing by the mansion that was torched by arsonists over Memorial Day, and headed for home still feeling good. That house is a bad deal. Somebody was building a huge mansion just east of the high school, then went bankrupt and lost it all before it was finished. Before the new owner could resume construction, somebody tried to torch it once but the fire department got there before much damage had been done. Unfortunately, they came back three weeks later and burned it to the ground the second time around. I know a lot of people have lost a ton of money on that place!
Makin' Hay While the Sun Shines!
Arson!
As I passed the high school, I noticed that my average speed was 18.0 MPH, so I suspected I would be able to get home with something slightly higher than that. It’s more downhill than up, but there are a couple of monstor climbs on either side of the river that have a tendency to eat up good average speeds. I knew I was pushing hard so I wasn’t sure how much of a handicap those hills would be. They slowed me down a little, but I still made it home with 20 miles under my butt and an 18.2 MPH average speed, which is the fastest I’ve done this year. In addition, I think today’s route is the harder of my morning rides.
I grabbed my bag and headed to work still feeling good. At that point, I’m sure I must have had a silly grin plastered across my face. I just couldn’t believe I was having such a good time in spite of the hard effort I was putting in! I made it to work with 29 miles on the bike.
At lunch, I walked up to Queen City Cycles for a bottle of lube. In hind-sight, I should have changed into riding clothes, ridden there and back, then taken a shower. It was a hot walk for a $7 bottle of bicycle lube!
The trip home was fun as well. I met up with a fellow commuter and rode a good part of the way home with him. Jim works in the Hammons Tower and lives near me but on the other side of Highway 65. It was great to have company!
Jim
Here’s the GPS track of the day. A little over 38.5 miles, including 2,003 feet of climbing. Another good day on the bicycle!
God bless….
TW
Tags: bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, deer, Fitness, Logan Rogersville, Queen City Cycles, Turners Station
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