I hit the Western Md Rail-Trail yesterday with the intention of finally riding the whole thing (22.5 miles each way). For a lot of you ladies, 45 miles is nothing. For me, it was the goal that inspired me to trade in my old Schwinn all-terrain heavyweight for a lighter, more "serious" 'cross bike. It took almost two years, but on Saturday I finally had the right blend of time, motivation, strength and endurance to do it. In addition, I did it at my highest average speed yet, 15.8mph.

Despite a couple of very difficult rides this year, I've definitely shown noticeable improvement in my speed and endurance. Yes, those improvements are taking place on flat trails like the C&O and the WMRT, but they really make me feel that I'm getting stronger on the bike. With the distance goal achieved, I feel like I can shift focus now and take some more serious steps towards getting comfortable on hills.

Statistics aside, it was a great ride for other reasons. Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous, with a beautiful blue sky and lots of fluffy white clouds. I started riding at about 3:30pm, so by the time I got back to the car I was able to catch the sunset in my rear view mirror on the drive home. And, while on the trail, I had some interesting animal encounters: At one point, I had to stop for a doe and fawn that were grazing on opposite sides of the trail. I whistled at them a few times until the fawn wandered over to mama's side, then very slowly pedaled past while they just stood there and watched me. Later on, a trio of wild turkeys crossed the trail in front of me. And even later, a raccoon waddled across the trail. And just for a bit of fun, I practiced riding hands-free for a bit and managed a whole 1/3 mile

This ride felt like of those days as a kid when I used to head out with my bike in the morning and my folks wouldn't see me 'til dinner time, and that's a feeling that I love