My Accidentally Great 36 Mile Ride on Sunday
I am starting to see a theme here. A lot of my great rides, great runs, and even great swims are happening by accident lately. So despite how well all of my coaching/organization/planning skills work for others, the planning lately has not been working on me.
And so I think I'll just go with that theme of accidental great workouts for now. Until it stops working.
To explain: This Sunday, I set out from my house over to Jack and Adams to do their Sunday Group ride at 8:30 AM. I thought we were going to do a Decker Lake loop, but the group decided it would be best to stay away from the downtown area due to the Motorcycle Rally. So we ventured south. I was excited because I had never cycled down south to Buda before and many of my friends have talked about how it is a lot of fun. (I still want to do a loop or two of Decker in the coming future to practice for Couples, but that's going to have to be another training day entirely) So I see a few familiar faces and chat with Mark, this girl Lauren and others at the start of the ride. We head up through my new neighborhood on Dawson/5th and go through the neighborhoods toward South First. This is where I leave the Jack and Adams folks and join the Austin Flyers. It was a little miraculous how it happened.
I noticed I was riding with a group of the Flyers who were mixed up within the Jack and Adams folks but didn't think much of it. As we approached S. 1st on Ditmar, I heard a lot of people around me yelling "Go straight! Go straight!" Little did I know that was the Austin Flyers ride leader indicating to the Flyers that they needed to break away from the Jack and Adams folks to follow the rest of their route. I watched the Jack and Adams folks turn on S. 1st to head to Buda, while I continued with the Flyers. I realized my mistake immediately. I road up to the ride leader of the Flyers, Evelyn for a few moments to make sure she was ok with me joining them, and then I set out to see another part of town entirely with my new accidental group. I was ready for adventure!
We went out onto Old Lockhart Road, and it was GORGEOUS. It was very hilly with a slight crosswind, but fortunately there was barely any traffic on that road and the scenes were straight out of Little House on the Prairie (or something like that). Needless to say, I was having a blast. It was hard and I had to push to keep up with them, but I was keeping out with them out of necessity. I knew if I didn’t, I would risk getting lost. That fear turned out to be great motivation for me to stay with the pack and stay fast. It was definitely a challenge for me because I have not been riding lately (aside from commuting) but I made it happen. At the 1/2 way point we stopped at this V@lero Gas Station to fill up on water and ice plus snacks. One of the kind, accepting Austin Flyers, Jerry*, bought me an almond Snickers bar. It was probably the best tasting sweet treat I've had all month. (Ok, maybe the best all week). Thanks Jerry*! I am convinced that Snickers was vital to my accidental success with the Flyers.
I made it back and thanked Evelyn for her guidance and support. I did not follow the group to Bicycle Sport Shop. Instead, I went back to Jack and Adams to tell Mark and others that I made it back safely. I chatted with James and a few other people and I also thoroughly enjoyed a breakfast taco.
I think it is fitting to give a THANK YOU to that random Velassimo racer, Dave, for giving me a ride to REI Gateway after the ride on Sunday. Thank you Dave for helping a fellow cyclist in need!
Here is our trek, which I'm sure I'll be doing again as it starts near my new 'hood and was oh so fun and beautiful!
Accidents happen. They are not always bad.
And so I think I'll just go with that theme of accidental great workouts for now. Until it stops working.
To explain: This Sunday, I set out from my house over to Jack and Adams to do their Sunday Group ride at 8:30 AM. I thought we were going to do a Decker Lake loop, but the group decided it would be best to stay away from the downtown area due to the Motorcycle Rally. So we ventured south. I was excited because I had never cycled down south to Buda before and many of my friends have talked about how it is a lot of fun. (I still want to do a loop or two of Decker in the coming future to practice for Couples, but that's going to have to be another training day entirely) So I see a few familiar faces and chat with Mark, this girl Lauren and others at the start of the ride. We head up through my new neighborhood on Dawson/5th and go through the neighborhoods toward South First. This is where I leave the Jack and Adams folks and join the Austin Flyers. It was a little miraculous how it happened.
I noticed I was riding with a group of the Flyers who were mixed up within the Jack and Adams folks but didn't think much of it. As we approached S. 1st on Ditmar, I heard a lot of people around me yelling "Go straight! Go straight!" Little did I know that was the Austin Flyers ride leader indicating to the Flyers that they needed to break away from the Jack and Adams folks to follow the rest of their route. I watched the Jack and Adams folks turn on S. 1st to head to Buda, while I continued with the Flyers. I realized my mistake immediately. I road up to the ride leader of the Flyers, Evelyn for a few moments to make sure she was ok with me joining them, and then I set out to see another part of town entirely with my new accidental group. I was ready for adventure!
We went out onto Old Lockhart Road, and it was GORGEOUS. It was very hilly with a slight crosswind, but fortunately there was barely any traffic on that road and the scenes were straight out of Little House on the Prairie (or something like that). Needless to say, I was having a blast. It was hard and I had to push to keep up with them, but I was keeping out with them out of necessity. I knew if I didn’t, I would risk getting lost. That fear turned out to be great motivation for me to stay with the pack and stay fast. It was definitely a challenge for me because I have not been riding lately (aside from commuting) but I made it happen. At the 1/2 way point we stopped at this V@lero Gas Station to fill up on water and ice plus snacks. One of the kind, accepting Austin Flyers, Jerry*, bought me an almond Snickers bar. It was probably the best tasting sweet treat I've had all month. (Ok, maybe the best all week). Thanks Jerry*! I am convinced that Snickers was vital to my accidental success with the Flyers.
I made it back and thanked Evelyn for her guidance and support. I did not follow the group to Bicycle Sport Shop. Instead, I went back to Jack and Adams to tell Mark and others that I made it back safely. I chatted with James and a few other people and I also thoroughly enjoyed a breakfast taco.
I think it is fitting to give a THANK YOU to that random Velassimo racer, Dave, for giving me a ride to REI Gateway after the ride on Sunday. Thank you Dave for helping a fellow cyclist in need!
Here is our trek, which I'm sure I'll be doing again as it starts near my new 'hood and was oh so fun and beautiful!
Accidents happen. They are not always bad.
posted by Unknown @ 10:22 AM
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