then you have a choice of many rights... Scioto (10 miles), Cook (12m), Hill (14m), Blaney/Home (17m), and finally cross 42 and turn right on Watkins (20m)
I looked at the map on google getting an understanding of what was meant, effectively about any right I took off of Jerome would get me to Concord which would bring me home. goFast and bikerBabe warm up on eighteen mile treks, Bill on the other hand was a tad hang wringy about it.
I did my little stall routine but the writing was on the wall and I felt oddly compelled to do it even though Sunday was my rest day. I hit the road, discovered I forgot my heart rate monitor, went back and got it and hit the road again.
Impressions of the ride. After turning left on Jerome there's a patch of road there that blows but then it gets better. There was much more traffic but not bad, just more of it. The further 'out' I went the better it got.
As I headed out Jerome I kept glancing down at my odometer trying to figure out when I needed to turn right to get the eighteen in, I wanted no repeats of yesterday. I had no clue, for those of you into planning these sorts of eneavors, well that's not me. I go past the first offering with scorn, AS IF! Then confusion started creeping in... Hill? I think that one goes through... Blaney? I recalled a Blarney... I pedaled on knowing that the biggest thing facing me was coming back.
That's whats cool about these solo bike gigs. Go out as far as you want but remember you still have to come home. I come up to a road called 'Home' and I recall it as a connector but it also has an alarming number of eighteen wheelers on it. I'm not up for having some eighteen wheeler blow by me at fifty five miles an hour on a two lane road. Honestly I'm not up for that on a four lane road. I hop off the bike and consult my map on my phone. Ahhhh this 'Home' is also called 42 and goFast mentioned I probably want to avoid it. Watching these trucks roll by I couldn't agree more.
Head back?
Press on?
I press on until it dead ends, hang a right and begin praying I'll see something called Concord, or something that resembles Concord, in fact any grape name will do. I'm way deep into farm land and it's serene but I'm not looking around much, mostly my eyes are forward hoping to see stupid Concord and keeping an eye out for that one pebble that will slip my wheel out from under me or flat me.
Mostly all I could hear was a kind of hum that my wheels made as I moved along. It was peaceful.
When I turned onto Concord it was like, well, turning onto Americana. The houses were close together but well maintained. Someone was growing a bunch of flowers right next to the road. I was enchanted, of the entire ride this stretch of road was my favorite. Suddenly Concord dead ends into another road. Hmmmmm, left or right? I can't get into any real trouble here but I could add undesired miles, my lower back was beginning to hurt and I knew from NC that I didn't want to piss it off.
Left it is. I go around this wicked bend and start pedaling hard up this pretty steep, albeit short hill wanting to get some distance from the bend in case someone was playing I'm a Formula One Racer and came whipping around it nailing me. I discovered I hate any upgrade and was sucking wind by the time I hit the top of it and hung a right back onto Concord, thank Heavens.
I got home.
WHAT A GREAT RIDE! OK so I'm not some pro or anything like that but I did it! I'm not um unhappy with my average mph but I think I can do better. So what I'll probably do is do this a few more times, get a serious feel for it and then turn left on Watkins and see what I can see.
This is way different than working out in the gym, many more variables. Maybe this week I'll pick an evening and try it again for my cardio but this time no coasting, keeping my cadence going or something like that (this is a promise remarkably easy to to type when sitting on the couch in ones home). I'll talk to goFast about that, he's insane so probably doesn't care what time but I might. Rush hour might not be a good time for skittish Bill.
If I go into the gym tomorrow I don't think I'll do much more than stretching and something light. Sunday was suppose to be a recuperation day for me but instead I did this and feel better for it.
Breakfast
- Coffee with French Vanilla
- One sweet cinnamon roll
- Two pita breads with hummus
- 1/2 of a banana
- Pot Roast 1/4 pound?
- Mashed potatoes
- Green beans
- Raspberries
- One Cliff Bar
- Two cookies
- One drumstick without nuts
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