The Ride MUST Go On!

Normally, I plan to schedule Saturdays as days off from training or I might mix in some cross training. But the triathlon is only two weeks away and Liz's schedule peaks this week with a 2 hour bike ride. Unfortunately, my bike is in the shop with the hopes that they'll find the source of the creaking noise that's been driving me crazy. I didn't want to skip the ride so I grabbed the blue junker bike I had in the basement, put some air in the tires, and took off with Liz for a ride around Eureka.

This beauty pre-dates quick-release so I got out the wrenches and raised the seat as high as it would go but I was still feeling a little too tall for the old girl. To make matters worse, the seat slowly dropped as the ride went on so I sat lower and lower the further we rode.

Eureka is a hilly place so I was a little worried about keeping up with Liz going up some of the bigger hills. I definitely had to work harder than I do on my roadbike, but the uphills weren't as big of a problem as I expected. Instead, the downhills were a little unsettling. For some reason, I inherited this bike with a complete lack of front brakes. Oh, and the rear brakes don't work all that well. So I had to clamp down on the rear brakes going down big hills for fear of gaining too much speed and not being able to stop.

All things considered though, the ride went pretty well and it was a great reminder of how beautiful our little town is!

Saturday
Goal For The Day: Long Ride
Distance: 21.73 Miles.
Time: 1:54:39. 11.4 mph avg.
Route: Ride around Eureka.
Conditions: 73 degrees/sunny when we left. 9:45AM.

Notes: Good ride but harder on the old junker. I think I slowed Liz down a couple of times. Two crazy experiences: 1)Liz almost ran over two live, small skunks that were coming out of the woods and were almost on the road. Startled us both! I"m not sure I've seen a live skunk before. Definitely not two and definitely not that close! 2)Saw an SUV with it's flashers on driving down the country road. As it got closer, we realized there wasn't anyone in the driver's seat. It took us a minute to realize it was the mail man driving the truck from the passenger side.

Daily Miles: 21.73 Miles
Blog Totals:
  Run - 30.34 Miles
  Bike - 21.73 Miles
  Swim - 950 meters