Riding away....

Stayed up later then I should have last night, not doing anything but Blog surfing, and channel surfing and wasting time. I knew I could sleep in late this morning, because I was taking the day off work, and would have plenty of time to ride a gravel Metric. However, shortly after 5 a.m. this morning I am tossing and turning in bed, knowing, I am free to bicycle today. I roll out of bed, stand there for a minute and say no, this is nutz, I need sleep, I am always running short of Zs. I crawl back in bed, lay awake for 30 minutes, and decide if I can't sleep, I might as well get on a bike.

I see it is going to be 80 degrees and I try to pack enough fluids for 62 miles of gravel. I don't like spending $3.00 on vending machine fluids, but yet I don't bat an eye and paying $300.00 to switch my HardTail over to Shimano STI shifters because I like the feel of them, and that didn't include the cost of handle bars, cables, and mechanical brakes, even though my thumb shifters were in perfect condition. Such is the mind set of a cyclist.

The first 20 miles were rip roaring, I didn't know where all the energy came from but I liked it. Then I think there must have been a hole in my gas tank because all that initial energy seemed to have leaked out and it started to become a grind just to maintain a decent pace. Such would be the rest of the ride. I stopped at mile 40 to eat my half of a PBJ sandwich. I was almost falling asleep sitting here, and thought about finding a place to take a power nap but the bugs were out in the billions, and stopping left me swatting em away the whole time.

Finished my ride, came home and fell asleep on the couch. 

Started thinking, I want to plan a night gravel century, would be fun, and spooky, maybe pack some blackberry brandy along in my flask to make it sporting. :-)

Saw this bad boy on the way back home. Wasn't paying attention and all most ran over him. I served as fast as I could. Don't want to hurt him. He was huge. 

So, one more day of work tomorrow, then the weekend. Looking forward to a day of exploring Saturday, seems it just never gets old, and every ride is always thoroughly enjoyed.