Odd Lot
What an odd set of circumstances to this Sunday ride. It was Florida-like today outside, with sunshine and 84 degrees and even a blue heron at my Lake Loop turnaround pond trail...look carefully at the picture I took...
Did you find him?
I saw him on my first lap and he was still there on my second lap around the pond.
Now to the 'odd lot' of things tagged to this 21 miles.
I knew I could not be away from home for too long because we are dealing with a very sick dog.
My wife had to head out this afternoon to stock up on some groceries, so I wanted to get back at a reasonable time to make sure our dog Gabby wasn't alone for too long.
Then things got more strange before the ride. All of the sudden my left calf started to feel odd while I was just sitting around this morning. No reason. Nothing to cause that. Not a cramp, but sort of an ache that ran down the outside of my calf from about midway down to my ankle.
I have no explanation or idea what this is. It kept getting worse, to the point where I could not put weight on it walking with a limp.
A couple of ibuprofen helped a bit, and I thought I would try to ride since this was my only shot in the nice weather. It would either hold up and loosen up or lock me out. I was able to ride without feeling anything bothering me.
My wife noticed a red circular mark in that area of my leg. I wonder if maybe something bit me???? I seriously have never experienced anything like it before. As I type this the area is sort of tingling now, like it's coming back from being used during the ride. Bizarre.
I rode over to Cranked Bike Studio because they had posted about wanting to do a 40-mile ride rolling out at 2:00 p.m. I had no intention of riding 40 miles with this weird leg condition, but I wanted to say hi and perhaps ride a few miles out with the group before turning around. Well, there were only three guys hanging out when I got there and they said they were waiting for the fourth.
These are younger, slimmer, stronger guys and I obviously didn't want to slow them down. So I said my hello and wished them a good ride, explaining I had to keep it short today because of my sick dog. No shape to hammer with the boys today!
Oh, on the way back from Cranked I saw that fourth guy heading to the shop, in full Cranked kit on a racy road bike with racing wheels. I made the right decision!
On my second lap of the lake loop I saw a lady from our neighborhood pass me by and make a left turn off my route on a pretty little road I had tried out only once in the past. It proves to be a dead end, but I took it today after seeing her. I was reminded it is an all-too-short dead end. Trees and shade and Lake Winnebago on my left shoulder.
Back on the Lake Loop course, I rode past a baseball game taking place on a park diamond. On one lap the batter swung and popped up a foul ball behind the plate. All I could think of was boy oh boy would I be pissed if that ball landed on my car in the parking lot! The ball landed just behind the parked car area. Yikes.
Lots of people continue to be out on bikes enjoying the weather.
My bizarre leg condition held up enough for 21 miles in the sun and the dog was there waiting for me on the couch when I got home.
RIDE ROUTE
To Cranked + Lake Loop 2 laps + some random riding
21.1 miles/Average Speed= 12.7 mph
Sunny, 84, Wind 5-8 mph
2020 SEASON MILES
Indoor: 125.6
Outdoor: 808.0