As mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’ve had a pretty limited riding schedule over the last few weeks. Instead of the usual three or four rides during the week, I’ve only gotten one or two in during the weekends. I also took last weekend off to install a floor into The Ex’s townhouse – so my body is getting used to the fact that it is no longer being tortured on a regular basis. This is evident in the fact that my pants are starting to feel a little bit tighter than normal and I feel winded after ascending a decent set of stairs.
Minnesota lakes look especially beautiful in the fall – especially on a calm, clear day. This is the northern portion of Lake Minnetonka, called “Crystal Bay”.
Now, in my youth, I recall that any time away from the bike seemed to offer little by way of consequence. Sure, I couldn’t go quite as fast or push quite as hard – but there was no real pain involved.
Jump ahead 20 years and it’s a whole different story. Next week, I’ll be turning 39 years old and I feel every single one of those years in my body after Sunday’s ride. The ride Saturday wasn’t particularly hard or long, but its affects were felt in my thighs the second I got on the saddle on Sunday afternoon. I was hoping to get a longer ride into my system, but my body wasn’t having much to do with it.
It sucks to feel as old as you are.
The roads around Lake Minnetonka offer a great treed canopy for easy, sheltered riding. The heavy fall colors are still few weeks aways, but they are pretty nonetheless.
All other aspects to the ride were wonderful as Sunday offered the type of weather conditions that Minnesotans are very proud of. It was cool, but not cold. It was dry and crisp with a blue sky that appeared to be painted in-place. There was little-to-no wind to speak of and the lakes reflected the wonderful blueness of the sky. Everywhere you looked people were outside either enjoying the conditions or working on some needed outdoor chores.
Most of my routes take me past some type of golf course in the west metro. Even though Minnesota has a short golfing season, there are plenty of participants and lots of courses available for playing.
I decided to head south and west to the northern portions of Lake Minnetonka, before heading north into Maple Plain. Here are the details loaded into the Garmin site from my Garmin Edge 500 computer.
There are lots of gentle rollers throughout the Medina countryside. Unfortunately, I dreaded climbing up each of them on Sunday’s ride due to the small rebellion taking place inside each of my thighs.
As enjoyable the route was, it was not without some trouble. We’ve had a bunch of of rain in the month of September – a rare occurrence in Minnesota. For the cyclist, this means that a lot of the gravel roads have their silt layer washed away and larger, marble-sized rocks are thrown onto the road by cars. This means that I had a lot of obstacles to navigate through. It also means that my tires take a beating and I run the high risk of a flat while out on the road.
When Mother Nature gives you this type of view, it’s hard not to take advantage of it and enjoy every pedal stroke on the bike. Even when they are painful pedal strokes.
Before heading out, I investigated the condition of my front tire and noticed a large number of cut that have penetrated all the way to the inner casing. The tire is worn out, but I didn’t have any replacements handy at the moment so I decided to risk it and checked twice to ensure I had enough repair equipment should the worst happen. Flats out on the road suck – and I’ve had my share of them this year.
Fortunately, I made it the whole route without problems. My bike took the ride in-stride and performed like a champ. I wish I could say the same for my aging body.
As grumpy as my body was during the ride, I couldn’t help but smile when I returned home. The New Steed continues to prove to be one of the best purchases I have made in my entire life. I look forward to growing old with this bike and suffering through many miles together.
