Lunchtime ride like the wind

With temperatures close to 60 and sunny, and with an actual hour for lunch, going for a ride was a no-brainer.  I rode from Grover down to Casa Lopez.  I was tempted to extend the round trip by two miles by going to Holzer and back, but I’m glad I didn’t.  The ride down to Casa Lopez was fast and I felt like I was flying.  After a quick swig of water, I turned around and headed back, only to find myself facing a massive headwind.  No wonder I was hauling earlier.  On the way back, it was all I could do to roll at 10-12 miles an hour, and I bet at times I dipped into the single digits.  The picture of the flag doesn’t really do the wind justice, as it was really whipping around today. While only a brief 34 minutes on the bike, it felt great. An yes, that makes two days in a row on the bike!

The details:

8.14 miles
34:32
500 calories burned
14.1 mph average speed

My rides lately

It’s been hard to get rides in lately, as it seems the schedule continues to get a bit more hectic as the weather gets warmer. I’m trying to find time to ride when I can, and right now the time is during my lunch break. This week and last I rode my mountain bike out to Sells Park; two days last week and two days this week. Due to time constraints of my lunch hour, I can only get about a mile into the trails before its time to turn around. I usually just stick to the Rockhouse Trail, as I can ride all of it without walking anything. I’ve yet to make it up the hill to get on top of the Athens Trail without walking, so I reserve that section of the Athens Trail System for when I have more time. With the two miles out and back on Rockhouse, and the 5.5 miles there and back, it turns into a decent lunchtime ride. Here’s the route to get there:

Since I’m so pressed for time, it’s almost like a time trial getting to and from the trail, and I usually face a massive headwind coming back to work. I can usually get there and back, get a shower, and be back at my desk in an hour. Sometimes I get held up at the red light crossing East State Street, and if that happens, I sometimes have to adjust my time on the trail. It may seem crazy to ride 5.5. miles round trip for 2 miles of singletrack, but the brief amount of time I get on the trail is very much worth it. It’s a good amount of riding to wet the appetite for more riding, while also getting a decent workout for the lungs and legs. I’m hoping to be able to work in some longer trail and road rides once things settle down a bit. It’s tough to be patient, but I have to remind myself that it’s only the middle of April. The riding season has only just begun. However, many of my riding buddies have been able to log a few more miles than I have, so I am a bit concerned about keeping up with them on the road. Maybe my gym workouts and lunchtime time trial/trail rides will be enough to keep me from being blown off the back. Time will tell.

Lunchtime ride to Sells Park

Quick trip to Sells and back

Another pretty day, another ride.   I was very fortunate to get   out for about 30 minutes on the mountain bike on my lunch break.   I rode from Grover Center parking lot at Ohio University, through campus, then out the bike path and through the Near East Side to Sells Park.   The trails were still pretty damp, so I just did a quick loop around the pond and left.   I was only there for less than 10 minutes, but it felt great to have a little dirt under the knobbies.   It’s supposed to rain some more this week, so it may be quite some time before the trails are dry enough to ride.

Total distance was 6.2 miles in just under 30 minutes of riding.