I took my bike out today, and on a lark decided to see how close to work I could get in a half hour. Once I reached 30 minutes, I thought, I'd turn back and do another 30 getting home.
Now my bike is not a road bike but a Frankenstein combo of mountain bike frame and hybrid road/dirt tires. I've been riding in a big loop outside of Tualatin, which if I do not dawdle, takes me around 35 minutes. So I was stretching a little to plan on a round trip which would take an hour.
Anywho, I took a nice backroad which had less traffic, and discovered that it's mostly downhill between Tualatin and Wilsonville if you take this route. I clocked 30 minutes, and was so close to my office that I just finished the ride. Thirty-two minutes total. I called Jean and let her know what I'd done (what have you DONE?!?!?).
Now I realized that the return trip would, by reversing conditions, be mostly uphill, so I let her know that I'd be a little late getting home. But. It wasn't only uphill, there was a strong headwind all the way home. My left gluteus had already been complaining, but I grit my teeth and pedalled away. And I got home in 39 minutes! I surprised myself. Total bike time, 1:11.
Now I'm listening to the gentle nagging of mah butt muscle, taking me to task for overstepping my bounds. Who knows what it will feel like in the morning. But for now, it feels great.
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