I am loving the later sunsets. Still can't get through my post-work rides without lights because I start so late, but at least I can get away with just one light now. When the sun sets earlier I use two headlights because they both have relatively short battery life (~1.5 hrs) on the brightest setting which leaves no margin for error. Anyway. I had a good ride after work two days ago. Another day of feeling lazy but I pushed myself not to take shortcuts. Instead I altered the route a bit in a couple of neighborhoods and used roads I'd never been on before. I think I need to do more of this to keep things fresh and interesting.
Last weekend (technically May, not June) I led a really good club ride. It was supposed to be 47 miles but we took a short cut at the end because it was very hot and we were very much not acclimated. Seriously it was 30 degrees hotter than it had been a week earlier. I was really feeling the heat because everyone else was much faster than me and just trying to stay within sight of them was more work than I should have done in the hot sun. Fortunately there was a lot of shade in the middle of the route, as we explored a four-mile trail that connects two parks on the Patuxent River. Half of it was a dirt trail which was manageable on road bikes but there were some loose dirt areas that required me to remember my mountain biking days. It was fun. Then of course the bike had to be cleaned afterwards.
- Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
- Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
- Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle
Gone but not forgotten:
- Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
- Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles