Easter started with a little egg-related event of my own – only this time, no magical bunnies were involved. The Ex™ brought over The Dog™ who enjoys exploring the backyard. While making the rounds, The Dog™ scared up a hen mallard and discovered seven little eggs in a well-designed nest. This hen had strategically placed a nest in my overgrown garden and was now within a nice, short walk of my swimming pool when hatching time comes.
Mother Nature apparently has a way to provide Her own form of Easter eggs
You may recall a story from last year involving ducks and my pool. As cute as they may be (and a big fan I am of more ducks flying around Minnesota), they are considered a true arch-nemesis for me and my pool. Every spring I am combating some set of ducks that want to call my nice, clean pool “home” and proceed to spend the better part of each day bobbing around on the gentle waves.
As much as I’d hate for the eggs to not hatch, I also secretly hope the dog was able to scare away the hen for good.
Damn duckies.
With such a nice March and early April, I'm a little frightened to see what our summer has in store for riding weather
After an uneventful Easter brunch, my daughter hunkered down in front of her newest game – God of War III – and proceeded to annihilate most of ancient Greece. She does not fit the stereotypical 14 year-old lifestyle, but that’s not such a bad thing. This did give me a chance to do some various chores around the house (including getting a coating of wax on the vehicle), all the while consuming the fresh air of a wonderful spring day.
Truth-be-told, I had been rather lazy this week and hadn’t been on the bike since last Sunday. One ride each week does not a cyclist make – so I will need to find something (or someone?) to give me a kick in the pants to get some miles into my legs in future weeks.
Sunday’s motivation was nothing other than the weather – as it was truly a glorious afternoon with sunshine and gentle breezes.
Since my daughter was enthralled in the basement, I decided on a quick ride that would involve less than an hour away and a simple adventure that didn’t take me too far from the house. Here are the stats that I acquired:
- Sunday, April 4th, 2010
- start time: 4:10pm
- distance: 15.9 miles
- speed: 17.6 mph
- duration: 0:54
- 2010 odometer: 141
Holy cow, those legs nearly match the color of my handlebar tape
Limited time in the legs produces a sucky ride – which this one generated in spades. There was nothing about the ride that was enjoyable. My legs did not really want to cooperate in the experience and would only provide a half-assed attempt to get me up hills or power through some headwind. The wind was there today – probably a little over 15mph from the west – and provided plenty of challenge for the first half of the ride. I was sure that my average speed would end up in the low 14 mph values, so I was a little surprised to see a number that actually hit the mid-17s. Of course, since my ride was a loop, the return half of the ride was mostly done under a tailwind and I spent much of the time in the low 20s.
With temps in the mid-60s, this ride was my first without some form of leg coverings. Normally, I am wearing either cold-weather tights or knee warmers. No need today, as I was able to expose my full leg from ankle to thigh without any fear of goosebumps. Of course, this had its downside in that the rest of the world was exposed to my ghostly white, hairy legs. At least they matched the “mostly white” theme I have going with the bike and did a nice job complementing my bartape.
It had to be a nice day to get her to pose for an actual picture and even offer a little smile
When I got home, I dragged the kid away from her death and destruction activities to work off some of the morning’s brunch. On Saturday, I was looking around for brunch recipes and found one by Paula Deen on the Food Network website. It was called Baked French Toast Casserole and included just about every heart-stopping ingredient you can find in the kitchen. It sure was tasty, but offered a sugar high (and subsequent early afternoon crash) that needed some good physical movement to shock the body back into reality.
So we headed out around the neighborhood – running into half of the population of Plymouth doing the exact same thing. I am fortunate in the location of my house with all of the available trails and parks that can be found no more than a few short minutes aways. It’s nearly shameful for not using them more than we do. But, we put them to the test on Sunday afternoon and had a great walk.
Still, no matter how much exercise I got on Sunday, it could not make up for the slow week. This is my time for “base miles” and I better not screw it up if I want to have an enjoyable Minnesota summer riding season. Plus, I could stand to get some color back into my legs and no longer scare women, children, and small dogs while out on the bike.
