This weekend I went on a scrapbook retreat in Brenham. I intended to get a ride in on my way to Brenham, but it was raining and REALLY cold, so I just kept on driving and was the first to arrive at the retreat. On my drive, the hills intimidated me quite a bit. I knew I would be facing some hills on the MS 150, and my guess was that the ones I would encounter on that path would be bigger… but these looked HUGE!
I settled in and started scrapbooking, but knowing I had all the gear and didn’t get to cycle was eating at me. The next morning I woke up and knew I had to get on that bike! And I love to scrapbook, so taking away from my cropping time was quite a big deal.
It was about 43 degrees so I bundled up and pedaled off to conquer those hills. Brrrrr! It was cold! Before I left, a fellow scrapbooker and more experienced cyclist gave my bike the once-over, asked about my route and made sure we swapped cell phone numbers.
The ride was fantastic! It was my first on country roads and I loved it. It surprised me, though, because I expected to be terrified on the two-lane country roads, feeling much more freedom on the shoulder of the busier road. Instead, I felt free and safe on the country roads and nervous on the busier road. As I was flying down the hills, I couldn’t help but to giggle and be thankful for the opportunity to be out cycling in the crisp air. I talked to the cattle and horses and had momentary feelings of terror when a car would whiz by me. Most motorists were quite courteous, but every now and then a car would pass, not leaving much room, and that was a trifle scary. But I still felt wonderful cycling away. Even trudging uphill, when I would see on my cyclecomputer that I was barely moving at 7 mph, I still felt abundantly blessed, although exhausted. What an amazing feeling to not only have the physical ability to be out there pressing and pulling those pedals, but to have a supportive husband who is encouraging my hobby and willing to take over with the kids so I could have training time and for God to put me in this perfect setting, giving me the opportunity to do this. Wow.
When I pulled up to the retreat center to finish the ride, I noticed I was 2/10 of a mile from reaching 20 miles. So, of course, I had to keep going down the road to round it out. It felt great! And it made me feel better about all those cropping treats I knew I would eat over the weekend!
Length: 20.10 miles
Average Speed: 11.p mph (There were LOTS of hills!!)
Max Speed: 28.5 mph (I said there were hills.)
