good news and bad

The good news -- after a couple of weekends of battling reluctance to ride, due partly to a strange low-grade anxiety about riding -- nervousness about the clipless pedals, about the gusting winds, about something happening while I am out by myself, and so on -- I finally bit the bullet today and went for a 60 km ride.

I started, as always, with a short ride down the street to make sure I still had the knack of clipping in and out of my pedals. No problems there, so I felt a rush of confidence as I started north.

I rode up to Roller Coaster Road, hoping to stop and take a look around for the cadence magnet I lost while bouncing over the bone-jiggling pavement at the bottom of the largest hill. But, to my surprise and dismay, I saw that the previous rough pavement and potholes were gone and in its place was an oily layer of fresh road covering. I won't grace it with the name "pavement" and the adjective "smooth" certainly doesn't apply, but the potholes are filled and the rough surface is slightly less jarring. It seems the county wanted an improvement, but also wanted to ensure that cyclists using this road could still experience some bone-mass-increasing action. I didn't hold out any hope for finding my magnet -- in this case the old saw was true: he who hesitates is lost. I should have gone back sooner. This was the minor bad news. Fortunately, replacement cadence magnets are available inexpensively.

Other that this slight disappointment, it was an excellent ride. The hills of Roller Coaster Road were as much fun as ever, and I was pleased to see that riding uphill didn't reduce my average speed.

Looking west

From here, I rode west to the north-south secondary highway and headed east on Airport Road. The clouds were gathering as I rode, and I wondered if the predicted rain would come sooner than anticipated, but no -- it stayed away.

The high point of my ride -- looking East

where the skies are not cloudy all day?

rain is in the forecast

At the seniors' home I turned around and headed back up the Really Big Hill. It was easy today -- it helps when you have a tailwind and crosswind, instead of a headwind!

 Stopped at the pond to take a few pics:

By this time, the clouds were thinning again, and blue sky was dominant. It was also getting warm. I wore a long-sleeved jersey and was wishing for short sleeves.

After the big hill, it was time to head south and back into town. I took Deer Trail, which winds around back to the main road. On this road, the wind wasn't bad, thanks to lots of sheltering trees, but once I turned onto the main road and was riding straight south, it was a battle, even though most of the ride is downhill. Even on the largest downhill, my highest speed -- while pedaling like mad -- was only about 42 km/hour. Still, though, I managed to raise my average speed yet again. I was pleased about that.

And now for the really bad news -- when I got home and rode into the driveway, something was missing. My beloved Bonnie Blue was gone from her parking spot at the bike rack.

Apparently, while I was riding and Hubby was working, someone came into our yard and helped themselves to a ladies bike, complete with panniers, back rack bag (and a front basket and fender that I added since this photo was taken.)
Nice.