Everything Changed

I wake up early on my day off. As usual. Several hours before the morning sun did. Sleeping longer would have been a treat for my body, but somebody needs to tell my mind that, seems that not long after 5 hours of sleep for me and nap time is over. Coffee is always waiting, about the time the sun starts coming up I am on my 3rd cup. Looking out the window I see frost all over. I am hyper by nature, and overdosing on caffeine gets me fidgeting. I am glad that soon I will be working the pedals of the FatBack for a all day ride on gravel roads on a route only to be determined at every fork in the road.

My bike has been parked leaning against the dining room table since last night. I have to take care of the small details the night before, or I too often forget something, like a tire patch kit, anti-bonk snack, and other things like that. I walk my bike out the front door, turn on my heart monitor and am surprised it is only 52 bpm my mind is going much faster.

I am on my bike now, I ride out of town through city streets, knowing the risks I hop on the highway with no shoulder and hug the white fog line like it's my imaginary safety net from 5000 lb bone crushing four wheel killing machines, and onto a county trail at last.

 Everything is now changed. I no longer have a low heart rate, thoughts in my mind have slowed way down, the frost is leaving, and I am feeling very relaxed. Perfect.

 Here's a Iowa road for ya, this will be a mud slide after a rain. This next picture was a standing corn field last week, now it is all picked, the scenery is changing fast at this time of year out in Iowa farm lands. 

Now I know how the Gnomes make it to the top of the trees to their Gnome Tree Top huts, they build tree steps. Who would have known??                                                                                                      

                                                                                                             

I was becoming satisfied with mediocrity in today's ride effort. I have been pushing the metric centuries and the last couple of weeks to 3 a week. Lately I have had some pleasurable hard rides.  My legs felt heavy but willing to just keep moving so I could get home and get off the bike. Then this happened.

These two road race jockeys, riding a full suspension and a Surly Cross X, pulled up behind me, then along side of me and we chatted a bit, and then they said good bye, and said they needed to get going and passed me. So that means, now I have to hang with their pace. So we three flew away. We were rocking. Before my delusions of grandeur run away with me here, they could have cranked harder but had a zone they were working in, and my goal was to keep up. We rode for 15 miles in a tight group, at a fast pace. At their turn off, they asked me my name, shook my hand and said amazing that FatBike rode along that fast. My head grew and I found it necessary to make adjustments on my helmet fit.

To end the night my son Josh stops over with his Halloween costume. Josh is a free spirit, he  knows how to enjoy today and we work at thinking about tomorrow just a little bit. He was really acting the part. Priceless.

Well seems tomorrow's agenda is the same as today's. Imagine that.

Dave