Rolling weekend

This past weekend was a pleasant one for me.  I managed two middle-distance rides, in an attempt to get my legs back and add some miles for May.  So far I only have 3 rides for the whole month, which is pretty dismal if you ask me.

Partly this was due to getting sick for a week.  While I am recovered from that now, I have lost some endurance.  Partly it was due to other family weekend activities like a cub scout camp out, and work at the dog ranch. And partly I suspect it was me being a bit lazy.

Saturday, Dave rode the Richardson Wild Ride Against Cancer.  So when he got home, I took off on my own.  I opted for a familiar set of roads, but took the route counterclockwise, just to vary things.

The wind was blowing hard, but was not a big issue on the E-W legs.  Still any time running south, it was slow going.  I didn't feel sluggish, but there was no speed to be had in the 'engine'.  I was glad to get out and ride, but not overly happy with my performance.

Fast forward to Sunday.  The wind was really blowing hard, with gusts into the 30's.  Dave didn't feel like riding after church and lunch and suggested that he would walk Shiloh in the evening, and I could ride north, and get a pick-up ride home.  never one to pass up a tailwind ride, I took off.

The route north has a lot of Strava segments on it, and I did ok, but not as good as I would have thought with the tailwind assist.  Still I felt better than the day before.  Going north can be scenic, so I opted to take the back roads into Gunter.  Gunter has a Sonic across from the school in town, and I had not brought a lot of ride-food with me.  Ice cream called my name (I blame Angus!), and I snagged a soft serve cone, wolfing it down.  I sent home a text just to tell them where I was at, and they unexpectedly started rolling my way then.

I hustled on down the road, at least making it to the Sherman hwy56 junction.  I had entertained the idea of rolling north until I ran into Texoma, but with the van already on the road I knew I wouldn't make it.  Plus, it was already pushing 5pm, so it was probably for the best that they rolled when they did.

Two back-to-back ride days made for a nice weekend.  The bike is still running well, and I was trying out a more intelligent pattern for shifting, as Dave informed me I was putting too great an angle on the chain line.  It seemed to work fine, so I will try to train myself to use it. (1x1-3, 2x1-6, 3x6-9).  Maybe now I can get back on track for the warm weather riding season?  Time will tell.