Well, we are now in my favorite cycling month. Today's weather matched it, too. So many weeks of 90+ degrees and humidity. Ugh. We started our ride at about 68 degrees and clear/sunny. It got up to about 78, with some clouds.
Did the ride we were going to do Saturday, which ended up being 45 miles. It wasn't anywhere I haven't been, just a couple of roads we usually do in the other direction. Took a longer, circuitous way to get out to Bolton, which is very hilly, but then we turned off to head back on a road we love, and usually only do after a very hard climb that we haven't done in 2 years. The last bigger climb is called Long Hill Rd... it lives up to its name, but it is worse going the other way. This is actually the street the school I taught in is on, but it is in another town. The part we were on is very rural, small farms, and large properties. Once you cross the town line, about 3/4 a mile from my school, it's like there's hardly any greenery and lots of smaller homes close together. This is very typical of New England. We turned left right before this demarcation, down a lovely mile long hill that was part of my commute when I first started riding. We stopped at a park with a covered ramada to eat our sandwiches, and soldiered on. I felt tired at this point, and actually had some cramping, not bad, though, in my quads and calves. Somewhere along the way, I had to stop and eat a Shot Block.
So nice to not be dealing with heat. Going to go stretch!