The Long Riders

Lots of construction and no clear fast way to get to the office from home. I ended up taking the long way, which ended up being a30 mile ride this morning.

It was hot, even at 5:30 a.m. when I rolled out of the driveway. It was so early the Callie my dog didn’t even get out of bed to see me off.

As the sun came up, the head wind started to kick-in. I was riding fast, but man, I said to myself, I sure have a long way yet to go.

At Ina and Oracle, a pack of riders caught me on the climb—they were an assortment of guys heading to work, and guys with a day off. They invited me to join the peleton and we flew up Ina/Skyline/Sunrise and cut right through that hot headwind I mentioned before. I said I was going to Desert San, and they suggested I keep riding up to Craycroft instead of my usual right and south-bound Swan Ave. This added an extra 2 miles, but what the heck?

At the light, I broke from the group as salutations were exchanged. Then I made the fast descent down Craycroft. Craycroft is all brand-new road and it was beautiful, Gentle Readers! I could see, from the top of my climb and now going down, the old 1924 water tower on the Campus of the Desert San—from about four miles out.

A good photograph probably wasn’t possible for you this morning. I was running a bit behind as instead of 15 miles I was pushing 30 miles. I had ridden very fast with the morning peleton but now fatigue was setting in and I was drained of energy. As I neared the busy intersection of Grant and Craycroft, cars were flying past, and it was getting hot and muggy. At the office, I stashed the bike and stood in my cold shower to try and cool down.

For my morning commute of 30 miles, I did four major climbs—from Dog Mtn to Moore Rd. From Moore Rd to Rancho Vistoso. From 1st Ave and Oracle up Oracle to Ina—and then the big climb from there to Campbell and Ina.

How do I feel? Really tired.

Bev will pick me up at the office as she has errands at the University. The temps today will be well over 103 degrees. Right now I don’t think I have it in me to ride home with those climbs, the traffic, and the heat.

But I tried something new and my eyes were opened—I hope I’m better for it.