Bad weather kept me off my bike for a few days. The rain stopped on Saturday though so I had no excuse. I loaded my bike onto the back of my car and drove to Harriet Island to start my 30 mile ride. I got the ride from a bike atlas that I picked up a few weeks ago at the bike shop. It seemed like a great buy because it had a map and then a CD with directions for each ride in the book. Well, it turns out that the directions weren't very good. I got lost at least three times. It took me 3 1/2 hours to go 28 miles. In one instance, the directions gave me the wrong street name and direction. I stopped at the intersection for a good five minutes trying to figure out where I was and which way I should go next. I made the wrong choice and went down a long steep hill. At the bottom of the hill I realized that I had gone the wrong way and that I now had to go back up the hill. I had no momentum and I was already pretty tired at that point so getting up that hill was tough. I was almost to the top when I just couldn't go any further. The problem was, I was clipped into my pedals and didn't have the momentum to push down and unclip myself. I wobbled for a moment and thought I was about to fall. That would of been quite a sight. I would have been on my side in the middle of the road still clipped into my pedals and furiously trying to free myself. Somehow, I managed to get myself moving again before falling and made it up the hill. At the top of the hill I stopped and had a power bar and figured out where to go next. I made the right turn this time and proceeded to get lost again a few minutes later. It was a long ride, and my butt really hurt by the end of it.
Other than the bad directions the ride was great. I rode around some beautiful parts of St. Paul and the south suburbs. At one point I was on the opposite side of the Minnesota river from the airport. I stood there watching planes land for about ten minutes. They would come in low right above my head. Riding my bike through the cities is really giving me a greater appreciation for how beautiful they are. This really is a great place to live.
I love it when people appreciate the Twin Cities and how beautiful they are! So it is unfortunate that your butt was so sore after that tremendous bike ride but let me share with you an oppostie scenario. Last weekend in Chicago we decided to go for a bike ride around the neighborhood on these fantastic bikes with great shocks, comfy seats, and mine even had a bell! It was probably the most comfortable bike I had ever been on. Not quite a professional bike ride but definitely an opportunity to feel like a kid again!
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