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The sky caught my attention early this morning. It was a surprising shade of purple and pink.

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a strange sight…a lone red glove draped over a branch stuck in the ground near the entrance to the greenway, as if it is pointing the way.

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a view of my bike handlebars perched on top of the roof rack of my car.

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the lettering visible across the stem is a reflection from the bright silver ring around the lens of my camera.

One of my cycling buddies (Scott N.) was talking about doing a fairly substantial ride on Saturday so I wanted to get a few miles in my legs on Friday so that I didn’t get caught off guard. Not precisely a warm-up, but I do find that a ride on the first day can lead to a better ride on the second. As long as you don’t burn out on the first.

Anyway, I did a windy 15 miles with a 14.8 mph average speed. Not too much, but enough to let my legs know they might get called upon to work.

On Saturday I met Scott at SouthWest Park, which I had not yet checked out. I guess it only opened late last summer sometime. I cycle all around those roads, but I usually ride right past the one that is the way to the park. It’s good to know it’s there. They’ve got a nice restroom facility and water-fountains and a vending machine and so forth…just in case I ever get caught out in that area…like in a thunderstorm or with a mechanical problem or something.

So, Scott and I hit the road at a little before 12:30. It was a very nice day—sunshine and temperature in the 50’s. There was a little bit of a gusty wind, which I hoped would die down, but no worries other than that. I was wearing some of my winter gear, but not the full kit. Boy I can’t wait for warmer weather to ditch all the extra articles of gear.

There’s not a whole lot to recount about the ride itself, I guess. After approximately 17 miles we made it to the bottom of Caraway mountain which was our goal. It’s not a huge mountain, but from a cycling standpoint it’s got a nice sustained uphill grade for a little over a mile which makes it a good early season test. There may be other roads that branch off from it where you could continue the climb even further, but our stopping point is about a mile and a quarter up, and then it plateaus for a time.

Scott had a specific training regimen in mind for himself that involved doing multiple trips up the mountain. I just wanted to get some miles in. So I only did two ascents, and he did three. My first trip up took about eight minutes (avg 9.2 mph), and the second trip took almost nine (avg 8.7 mph). These figures are according to my Garmin cycling computer. There could be a little fuzziness around the edges if I didn’t push the lap button at exactly the same spot.

After the second lap up, I knew I was done. There was still the ride home which would be plenty hilly enough for me, I knew. Plus I was concerned that the headwind would be a bigger factor on the return route. I waited at the top, and ate some fig newtons, while Scott did his third lap up the mountain.

On the return I saw a hawk, and what I think was an eagle perched atop a telephone pole. And yes, the headwind was worse on the return.

At the end of the ride I had a total distance just over 41 miles and an average of only 14.3 mph. The fastest speed I hit during the ride on a good long straight descent was 38.3 mph. That was fun.

Overall, while I can’t say the average speed of the ride makes me happy, it is still early in the season. Speed increases quickly as soon as it starts to get warmer, and my climbing legs will come back quickly as soon as I start riding my commuting bike into work again.

Today, the day I usually get my riding in, I rest. I feel good about the mileage I’ve gotten in the past two days.