Religious Ride
I headed out early today because it best fit my schedule. Early for me means a 10:10 a.m. roll out after recording my PhilCast show.
patreon/com/philcast
Within the first few miles the construction obstruction hit me. Now BOTH my main routes west are blocked heading out of town. Great.
I love it when they post no detour route, just a Road Closed sign. Of course I became hopelessly lost in a maze of suburban houses on twisting, winding roads that end up in dead ends. It was a frustrating start as I tried to get back onto Manitowoc Road, which itself was all tore up for much of last season.
I finally stumbled onto a way out and was on my way to the countryside, and what beautiful countryside it is. Today as I soaked up the sun and watched silo after silo in the distance, I thought to myself, "Thank you Lord for this beautiful day and the ability I have to be doing what I am out here today."
I have ridden past this little church 100 times on a quiet stretch of Military Rd., which marks the start of my turnaround on the route. But I had never stopped here, until today.
Today I pulled over just to snack on the apple bar I had stuffed into my jersey pocket as a sort of breakfast on the road.
Great view.
And today it was as if everyone was locked in their houses because it was dead quiet out there on the two-lane roads. Wonderful. God how I love riding out there all alone clearing my head like that.
This is the bench I sat on in front of the church.
(see inscription)
I left him my burdens, took in the view one last time, once again thanked the Big Guy for the ability he has given me on a bike, and took off for the ride back.
As the title page of my training blog says, no two sides are ever the same, and that was true today.
On the way back I caught up to a large piece of farm equipment ahead of me.
The span of whatever the monster was took up the entire width of the lane. In fact, as I drafted him for a time I could see he had to move to the center at times to avoid hitting mailboxes along the side of the road.
I could not pass. Too dangerous. So I settled in for about a mile until he finally turned right and out of my way.
I did NOT attempt to get around the construction the same way I had headed out, as that would have been impossible to recreate. But I did remember another way around it all that I once took last season. So the ride home was fine.
I had great legs today. There was more in the tank at the end of the 28 miles, but we'll save some for tomorrow, when another beautiful weather day is predicted.
Another countryside tour is possible, if I can get around all the dang construction on the way out there!
RIDE ROUTE
The Rectangle (with detour)
28.2 miles
Average Speed= 13.9 mph
Sunny, 80 degrees
Wind 5-10 mph
2020 SEASON MILES
Indoor: 125.6
Outdoor: 1,083.5