The winter that wasn't...

Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The winter that wasn’t continued on the last day of February.  With temperatures in the mid-60’s, I walked to my car in a parking lot soaked by the day’s rains.  I don’t like to ride wet roads and it was a day for the Survival Workout…but how could I pass up these temperatures?  And winter could finally start on the first day of March and then I wouldn’t be able to ride outside for a couple of months.  And pigs could fly…but I wasn’t taking any chances and suited up for a long ride.

I hadn’t been paying attention to sunset since I hadn’t been out riding in three weeks so I was uncertain how much time I had, but as I got further into my course, I determined I was going to ride the entire thing even if it meant finishing in the dark.  I knew the side streets back to the house and could avoid traffic pretty effectively.

I rode through Waite Hill and passed a property with a small lake…or a large pond…with geese swimming, a red tail passing overhead and an herd of 15 deer grazing in the field nearby.  It was such an idyllic setting that I wanted to pull off the road and just soak it in for a period of time, but I was up against the dark clock and needed to keep moving.  I felt that way for the entire ride.  I really wanted to take my time and enjoy the fading but warming sun and the sights of the countryside.  I kept pushing hard though as the sun sunk lower in the west.

I hit the North Chagrin Reservation near dark and with 15 minutes left to ride, but finished out of the path of cars on the side streets leading home.  I’d managed almost 2 hours on winter’s warmest day.

Dinner was another scrambled egg dish loaded with mushrooms, onions, and spinach washed down with a huge smoothie.  I’m starting to feel lean again…long before the birthday triathlon, which this year will mean 5.7 miles of kayaking followed by a 57-minute run and finishing with a 57-mile bike ride.  In the past, I’ve felt like I needed to ratchet up my training in March to accomplish the task, but I feel ready today this year.  The weather has been completely uncooperative the past two years, but the way this winter has gone, it may be in the 80’s by mid-April.

Bike Duration: One hour and 55 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1600.