Breaking Free - First Road Ride!

I did it I finally got to take Stella off onto a 13 mile loop of country roads! It was fantastic! Sure I had to walk up a hill or two, and I took advantage of a stop sign or two to stop for a few minutes and drink water as I am not about to try to drink and ride at the same time as of yet.

There were 17 mph winds that were always either cross- or head-winds, very rarely were they tail-winds. However my concerns about how to dress was unfounded, for of course I had no problem with being too cool One water bottle, however, was not enough. Technically it was, I ran out just as I returned to my car.

My average speed was 11.9, top speed was 22 and bottom speed was 7...remember those hills I walked

It took me 75 minutes to bike 13 miles, which doesn't seem too bad for a total novice

I suspect that speeds, and time, would have been better without that incredible headwind - however it was fun! It was fun to look around and see the blooming trees/flowers as I cycled across the countryside.

Much to my surprise, I was NOT nervous about cars once I actually got on my bike and put it in motion. I just tried to be mindful of cars and to get over where I could so they could pass.

A lot of the pavement was quite rough, and I've not felt that vibration in my bars before because of it. It will be interesting to see how my LHT rides those same roads - though he will have aluminum bars rather than steel when I see him again.

Now off to a shower and then to get some work done!