Paradise on the Pedals

I decided to spend some time with my bike today. Give it some of the attention it deserves, and that I really need. It started with a good cleaning. It's been awhile since my S-works and I have spent some time with a cleaning rag. I took a bit of a short cut for the really ugly stuff - there was some mud and grunge caked from yesterday's ride - and, come to think of it, from a lot of my rides 'cause it's all been rainy and ugly... - anyway - I went to the car wash. I even brought my bike stand and spent $1 and hosed it down. Packed it all up, and set-up again in the garage for a good cleaning and polishing (yes, I wax my bike, not just my legs!)

Then I went for ride. For old times sake I threw on my Bikejournal.com jersey. Been awhile since I had that one on! It's really a comfortable jersey.

Then I got some bad news - my Garmin died! I've had it for awhile, and we've been through alot together, but it's dead. Won't boot up, won't even recognize it's plugged in. Good thing I was able to get all of my data off of it last night!

So, today I ride NAKED! (Don't panic, that's what I call it when I don't have a bike computer with me!) I could've grabbed my Garmin running computer and worn it on my wrist, but I thought I'd just go out and enjoy a good ride. I haven't ridden without a computer for a long time.

The weather was nice and warm - about 20C - but the wind was up. I headed out towards Leavitt. I knew it was going to be a bit of a battle on the way out, fighting 40+km/hr winds, but the ride back would be sweet!

I don't know what my heart rate was on the way out (no computer) I don't know how fast I was going (no computer) I don't know what my cadence was (no computer) and I don't know how many feet of elevation I climbed (no computer) - except that I knew all of that stuff. I've ridden this course so many times I know how many feet of elevation it is, and based on what gear I'm pushing and my perceived effort and perceived cadence, I know pretty close how fast I'm going. It was really fun to just ride. I was surprised how many times I looked down to check the computer though!

After roughly 35 minutes of pushing hard to get to Leavitt I turned around and headed back. Going up Monson's hill (750m and average grade of 8%) it was interesting to note I was going UP the hill faster than I'd come down it. Okay, maybe not quite, but it was close...

I found myself in the 52 x 11 and spinning high cadence - over 100 and often-times up towards the 120 range - and just LOVING it! The freedom, the speed, and the great ol' 80's tunes pounding away on my ipod! A little Lover Boy and ACDC to keep me company. It took me only about 18 minutes to get back, but what a great 18 minutes!!

My legs are tired. (Went for a nice long walk with my wife this evening) - but it's a good tired. I'm looking forward to another good ride tomorrow. Today's ride didn't have any profound insights generated. I didn't learn any more about myself. I didn't learn any more about my bike. I just rode. I just enjoyed the wind in my face and tunes in my ears.