Chicopee Redux

Amy and I rode Chicopee again today. Our last trip was about 9 months ago. It was really hot that day, and it was Amy's longest ride to date. She did amazing that day and finished like a champ, but I could tell she was giving maximum effort.

Today's ride was much more relaxed. The cooler weather made it easier. Plus I think the long rides we have been doing together on our x2cyle has improved the endurance of both of us. Amy was smiling all day long and seemed full of energy. I think we both really enjoyed ourselves.

Gainesville SORBA has been working hard on the trails. There were several new re-routes since our last ride. I will miss a couple of those sections, but the new stuff was fun and looks like it was very well built. I have heard rumors of some new trail being built were the inner loop used to be. I can't wait to see what they do.

Montgomery Creek

Amy and I did the Montgomery Creek ride together this Saturday. The trail is an old forest road about 8.5 miles long with a couple of pedal deep creek crossings. Apparently there is a pretty cool waterfall there named Black Branch Falls. Here is a pic from Waterfalls of North Georgia.



Unfortunately we were not able to find the right trail to get there. One of the rangers showed us approximately where it was on his topo map so maybe next time we will be able to find it.

On the drive up Amy and I had a really good talk and settled some stuff that had been bothering us for awhile. Afterwards Amy put on the "Not Played" list on my iPod for the rest of the drive. The music turned out to be some weird super chill stuff my friend Cory gave me. For some reason, I was totally relaxed and ready to hear that type of music. Maybe it was because I didn't sleep much on Friday night or maybe I was just feeling good after our talk. Normally I would be too antsy to sit still and listen to something really slow and new.

I got to trail in really good mood, and I felt great the rest of the day. Amy and I ended up having the best time together. I slept like a baby on Saturday night. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

I understand her apprehension

Jill posted an excellent blog post about her apprehension of an upcoming epic adventure in Alaska. While I have never done anything near as adventurous as her, I could relate to what she felt before the start of a race. These feelings of dread and fear are one of the things that made me quit doing endurance races. I just felt like if I wasn't going to enjoy it then why bother. She didn't talk about why she races in spite of the fear before the race. I can only guess she either enjoys herself during the race or maybe even after the race. I definitely got something out of it, but I can't put it in words.

On a completely unrelated note here is a commuter tip. When it is really freaking cold and you are scared to open your garage door and head out, put on all your cold weather clothes then inflate your bicycle tires. The more days you wait between re-inflating your tires the better this technique works. It had been weeks since my last inflation, and I was toasty as I headed out on my ride this morning. As a bonus, I felt like a speed racer with an extra 50 psi in my tires. It is amazing how much better your tires roll when they are inflated.

Happy Valentine's Day

my present

first day back

I must have set some kind of record for sleeping this weekend. 15 hours on Thursday, 13 hours on Friday, and 11 hours on Saturday. The flu really kicked my butt, and I needed every minute of that sleep.

Saturday I cleaned up my old Sugar and gave it to a friend of Amy's. Felt good to pass it on to someone who can get some use out it. Other than the chain suck it was a great bike. I loved the way the suspension felt on the downhills.

Sunday I saw the movie "Juno". It was kinda quirky. The main character was as cute as she could be though, and I enjoyed watching her story.

I rode today for the first time since I got the flu. I just did my normal commute to and from work, but it felt almost epic at times. Funny how you can lose fitness so much faster than you can gain it.

I am a doper

I have been loading up on Tamiflu, Tussionex, Advil, and MucinexD. I am pretty sure I could win the Tour de France now.

I saw another cool commuter bike this weekend.

Electra Bikes