Steamy 6 July Rides/Swims/Runs

The DC area is hitting the century mark today, so I got up super early to get in a 30 mile ride before going to the pool. Usually, I don't see other cyclists out since I ride before dawn, but this morning, I saw this guy whom I've dubbed, "Mr. Neon" (I usually only see him Sunday mornings). He has the most intensely bright (overkill) lighting system for his bike: a klieg light strength headlight plus a helmet light for the front and the rear tail light is a blinking, red, evil cornea-burning strobe that actually hurts the eyes of anyone behind him. When you see his "glow" in the distance, it makes you wonder if a space ship has landed (he also doesn't dim or move his headlight if he encounters someone in the opposite lane, but I digress). No one else was out and about, except for the bunnies and feral cats. It was a bit more humid than it's been for the last five mornings or so, but not enough to haze my glasses or inspire swarms of gnats.

I got to the pool when it opened and since I'm on leave today, I got in a nice 3,250yd swim. The last week or so has been wonderfully uncrowded at the pool---a real treat.

When I got home, I took Fiona and Margot for abbreviated walks due to the heat. It'll be naptime for all of us in a few hours! ;)

We were a little less motivated, i.e. we did a very short (11 mile) hill ride at 5 AM for the very same reasons stated above. It was twilight when we left, didn't really need the headlight, though. Rode through town, up Nawshatuc Hill and back home, up the steep side of my street.
Saw one commuter, quite a few runners, and a couple of other cyclists on the way back. Despite the early hour, we still had a little "traffic" incident. There was a street cleaner on Main St., right before entering downtown. He decided to pull out and turn around down a side street right before we went by. We were already riding in the lane, but he forced us to go on the wrong side of the road... it was quite clear he didn't see us, especially since the driver side of the street cleaning vehicle is on the right. Of course, after that, the one car that was behind me started beeping his horn at me, as I went around the round a bout, in the lane. Geez, at 5:30 AM?
I still love riding at this time of day, but getting up at 4:40 was just a little bit hard :). I plan to do some swimming at the pond later on, but since I swim pretty poorly, that will be more fun than exercise.

It was in the 80s when I left. I got out of the car having had the AC on, and my sunglasses fogged up a bit! (This was at 8:30-ish).
~14.5 easy, flat, but quite sticky miles.

No riding today. 104F. I did get up at 4:30am to take a friend to the airport. But once I got home and walked the dog, it was already too hot for a ride.

I did a 16.75 mile ride yesterday, avg speed 13.3 mph which was my best yet. I rode on fairly flat terrain, through 2 nature preserve areas. Saw a wild turkey up pretty close to me, a big beautiful hawk perched on a road sign along the bike trail, and a few bunnies scurried out of my path. :D

Yesterday, I headed out at around 5:30 pm, when it had cooled to 90º. Not surprisingly, not many riders out. I did my easy 18 mile route.

Did the same route again this morning, before 7 am, before it heated up too much. Unfortunately, it was even more humid. I can't wait for this heat to break.