Sunday cycling

Zooming along a country road.

Hey!  It’s summer!  Be free and happy and danceful and uninhibited and now-y!

~ Terri Guillemets

The corn was taller than knee-high before the 4th of July.

I took Lulu* out for a bike ride this morning.  M joined us.  It was the perfect summer morning for a ride through the countryside.

*Lulu is my everything-proof point-and-shoot camera.

Where I’ve been

I noticed the cicadas for the first time today.  I was just thinking last week that we should be hearing the chirps and clicks and songs of the cicadas soon.

The roads are long and flat.

I haven’t been riding my bicycle as much as I’d hoped.  Either there hasn’t been time or I didn’t feel up to it.  Hopefully I’ll be able to get out on it more in the coming weeks.  I’d like to increase my average miles per hour which is currently hanging out at a lowly 8 mph.  I will work my way up to 9 mph, then 10 mph, and then we’ll see.  I can and do get up speed for the fun and workout of it, and today I made it up to 16 mph, but it’s not a speed I can maintain for a great length of time (right now).

Stretching out.

I have a hybrid bike rather than a road bike so speed is not easy.  Distance isn’t, either, because hybrids are made for short, casual rides (10-20 miles).

Past the farm.

When M and I bought our bikes, we decided hybrids would probably be best as we hadn’t been riding in a long time, and it was unlikely we were going to participate in any races or long bike rides.

The wheat has been harvested.

Now that we live in a place with wide open cycling space and little traffic, I’m reconsidering my bike.  I won’t be buying a new one anytime soon, but it is something to think about if I want to start riding longer distances.

Around the bend.

I recently read an article comparing hybrid and road bikes.  Turns out the road bike is better in terms of spreading out the weight and pressure.  A hybrid bike makes you sit up straight and all the weight is on your bottom.  That gets pretty uncomfortable after a while, even with a comfort seat and/or padded cycling shorts.

A little faster than turtle speed.

A road bike distributes your weight between your hands, feet, and bottom.  You can shift around when one part gets tired, redistributing the weight as necessary.  The best I can do on the hybrid bike is stand up occasionally to take the weight off my bottom.  The ideal situation, for me, would be to rent a road bike and see how it feels.  I’ve never ridden one before.

On and on.

Choose your exercise using the same criteria you’d apply to choosing a date — that is, attractive to you and able to hold your interest for an hour.

~ Victoria Moran

The long and winding road.

The day has been heating up since our morning ride.  I did a little mowing before lunch, but the afternoon is best spent sitting on the porch catching a breeze or swimming in the pool.  I’ve done both.

Heading home.

Thank you for dropping in today, and joining me on another bike ride.  We should do this more often.  Or at least I should do this more often.  It’s time for me to shed the slothful habits I’ve acquired over the past few weeks.  Easier said then done during the months of July and August, but one of the great things about riding a bike is that you bring your own air conditioning.  As long as you’re moving, there’s a breeze.

Just another mile or two to go.

I hope you’ve had a delightful weekend, balanced with rest and recreation.

Let’s catch a breeze by the creek before we finish this ride.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂