Rode one of my "daily ride" routes today...although "daily" is not quite the truth...I've hardly ridden at all in the last week! It's an 18 mile loop with some big long hills. An absolutely beautiful day...in the mid-60's, not a cloud in the sky, and moderate winds. Spring is in full force here...it's so green and lush and gorgeous! I get to ride through forest areas, our little "downtown" which is about 1/8 mile from start to finish, as well as agricultural areas with apple orchards and Christmas tree farms. Beautiful views of the snowy mountains too!

Aside from a terrifying stretch where I was passed by about 40 motorcycles, it was a great ride. Two things that really got me riled up about this group of motorcycles...#1 they were riding in pairs so they were taking up the entire lane, and #2 some of them felt the need to honk and yell and scream at me. This stretch of road was uphill with no shoulder and a 3' deep ditch directly off the white line. Clearly, the motorcyclists saw me there...unless they normally ride around honking and screaming. Of course, they had no idea that I was super tired, I basically cannot ride in a straight line, and that riding 4 inches from a ditch while wondering just how many more motorcycles were back there was scaring the living daylights out of me. At any rate, when they FINALLY finished passing me, I was shaking from the terror of it and had to stop in a driveway, sit down in the dirt, and drink my Gatorade until my heart rate and breathing got back under control.

The last stretch of my ride is a really fun little country road...downhill with big sweeping curves. I can basically ride down the middle of the road and get up to about 30 mph. It's like a treat to look forward to as I near the end of my ride.

And...I did not fall over today! I love my clipless pedals once I'm riding, but I was about ready to put my platform pedals back on. I'm banging up my bike and my body with my crazy tip-overs. I haven't this many bruises on my legs since I was a little kid! I still need to learn how to start and stop properly, but at least I stayed upright today.