Random thoughts

Not a great photo, but a coyote was out checking out things by Cherry Creek reservoir as I road by this morning. This one was a bit scrawny, but the other day I say a coyote that was really magnificent looking. The deer are out in good numbers now-a-days (in the Cherry Creek park), and the prairie dogs as well, as long as it isn't too early in the morning!

In order to bump up my miles (I am now averaging over 100 miles a week), I am doubling back after I round Cherry Creek reservoir, so my "loop" is not 30-31 miles instead of 25. My weekly rides are keeping up the miles and now I am trying to add some serious hill climbs on the weekends. I feel that about half way through my training, I have built up a pretty good base. As long as I continue I think I'll be fine (I hope!).

As the weather has gotten warmer, there are more bikers out when I go. I do not like to be passed, though if it is someone considerably younger, I try not to let it bother me (the other day someone passed me who was probably in his 40s and that rather peeved me...). I do, however, always try to push my speed up after I am passed to see if I can hang with the person who passed me. Sometimes I don't have a prayer, but other times I do ok. This morning, someone passed me about 6 miles from getting back to hilltop and I managed to up my pace so I stayed with him the rest of the way. I was pretty tired when I pulled off the bike path, but I guess that was good for me.

This got me thinking that though this competitive reaction is probably not the smartest thing I do, on the whole biking has been good for me psychologically as well as physically. Certainly it was back in the 70s when I first got biking seriously in England. I learned to take my time and enjoy the ride, not just putting my head down and plowing on to the end. I tend to be impatient (which is why I don't like hiking), but I learned on my trips around England that if I enjoyed the experience and stopped, from time to time, to "smell the flowers," it was a much better experience.

My first goal in Ride the Rockies is to survive it and complete the course. The second one, though, is to enjoy the experience. Right now I am very focused on the number one goal and I know that I will be anxious once it starts, but I think I'll be able to not just put my head down and bull ahead, for what would the point of that be? One time, in England, I decided I would aim to cover 125 miles in one day and so I just went at it; I finished the distance by 2 in the afternoon and didn't enjoy a bit of it! So, I plan not to do anything like that, but we'll see. (Note that my third goal is not to be the last rider to complete the trip each day!).