Jan 7 rides

[makbike]

Oh my gosh what a beautiful day we were blessed with here in Kentucky. I packed my bike in my car this morning along with my cycling clothes so I could get a ride in right after school let out for the day. The sun was shining, the skies had some blue in them and the wind was blowing like a mad man (20 mph from the south). I left the parking lot dressed in a short sleeved jersey, arm warmers, shorts, tights and the other normal stuff. It felt so nice not to be bundled up in layers. The warm sunshine was such a morale booster as well. I quickly fell into a nice cadence and it was off to the races - I was flying and the more I rode the bigger the smile on my face. At the 7 mile mark I had to make a decision keep going or turn back to school. The clock told me I still had 1.5 hours until sunset so off I went to ride some additional miles. I made my way through the tiny town of Hatton and then cut over to the larger town of Bagdad. I now found myself racing the clock and the sun - it was going to be close and so I pushed myself to get back to school before the sunset. I arrived back at school 10 minutes before the official sunset time and I felt so dang good. I logged 24.3 miles and average 16.6 mph - not bad given the wind. My new bike is so much ligher than my old touring bike and handling the wind is quite a new challenge. It was a great day to ride and the smile is still plastered on my face!