132nd ride of 2020 - Saturday, 10/24/2020

2020 mileage: 3432.6

After a good and encouraging stretch of composition early this morning, I went out to ride at 8:00, fully intending to do my 31-mile round trip to Matthei Botanical Gardens in 35°, mostly sunny weather.It west pretty smoothly, with no real problems -- but as I neared a decision point almost 10 miles into the right (at Platt and Packard), my hands and feet were miserably cold, even though my torso (class in a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie, and my bright yellow winter coat) was fine. I decided there was no need to beat myself up and risk turning an enjoyable activity (riding) into an uncomfortable and dreaded 'duty,' so rather than pressing on, I turned for home, riding the Platt-Packard Square and contenting myself with a brisk ride of 13.7 miles in 1:43.

Fall color is at a real peak right now, too, as this tree along Eisenhower Blvd. out in front of Briarwood Mall shows.

Link to (Relive) video of today's ride

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

176th ride of 2020 - Tuesday, 12/29/2020

2020 mileage: 4190.1 Another cool ride today—30°. I began at 1:00 p.m. A few miles into the ride it occurred to me that, while there are doubtless numerous days in, say, July, when it would feel good to be barefaced, right now (especially when riding) I'm very glad to have my beard. I rode the Platt/Packard Square, 13.7 miles, in 1:40. If I can do it again either tomorrow or Thursday, I'll pass one last mileage milestone (4200) for the year. However, the weather forecast for tomorrow doesn't look particularly promising (a possibility of cold rain much of the day). But Thursday, the last day of the year, looks better. And anyway, if it doesn't happen, I'm OK with that. I'm disappointed to have ridden less than half the days this year, having a mental image of myself riding roughly six days a week. But there have just been too many long and unconquerable stretches of mechanical and medical issues that kept me away from it this year. Here's to a better 2021! Li...
Read more

Saturday, 12/26/2020

2020 mileage: 4166.0 After not riding since Wednesday (because of prepping for a guest on Thursday, and then Christmas yesterday), I was eager to try to squeeze one in today. But when I went out to check at midday, the snow we had gotten rendered the surface unsafe for riding, in my judgment, and the 25° temperature dissuaded me also, so after just now finishing a Zoom session with our grandchildren in which we continued our tradition of building gingerbread houses, I'm going to crawl in for a nap now. I decided that there's no reason I have to beat myself up!
Read more