Today was kind of an exciting ride. Lots of firsts. I used my bike computer for the first time. The computer keeps track of my speed, time and distance. According to the computer my top speed for the night was 31 mph. I'm kind of glad I didn't notice that while I was riding because I probably would have freaked out when I realized that's how fast I was going. Especially since the speed limit was only 25 mph.
I got yelled at by a driver for the first time. He almost hit me and then he yelled at me. He then got out of his car and apologized by explaining what I had done wrong. He did really say sorry though, and I just apologized to him. Then he practically told me his life story for the next five minutes. If I was one of those guys who's good at making friends with perfect strangers who almost hit me with a car and yell at me, I might have a new pal. But I'm not, so I just rode on. I actually almost got hit twice while riding. I was in the bike lane stopped at a light. The lady in the car next to me got stuck behind a car waiting to turn left. She decided to go around the car by pulling into the bike lane quickly. She never even looked, and probably didn't even see me. I swerved out of the way and almost fell over in the middle of the intersection. I felt kind of like yelling at her, but I just rode on.
Having the bike computer made things much easier. I didn't have a pre-planned route. I rode wherever I wanted. My goal for the night was 14 miles, so I rode until I hit 7 miles and then turned around. I rode along the Mississippi again. I love riding by the river, and luckily there are so many trails that follow the river I never have to ride the same place twice. Tonight I rode from my house to lake Nakomis. The trail around the lake was packed so I didn't actually circle the lake, but I'd like to go back some other time. There was a huge park and it looked like a nice place to wander.
There were a lot of other cyclists out. Most were riding in groups, but there were a few other solo riders. I even saw a couple of professional teams. Matching jerseys and everything. I actually looked like a real cyclist except for one thing. I noticed that all the other guys out riding shave their legs. I know the reason behind it, but I think that's one cycling custom I'll pass on. They all had nice tans too. I've been out in the sun riding a lot, and I've probably got all the color I'm going to get. Still pasty.
The teams looked like they were having fun, and the pairs of riders seemed to be having a good time as well. I don't actually mind riding alone that much. It gives me a lot of time to think, and talk to myself. Yes, I'm still talking to myself. Not so much this time because there were a lot of people around. Also, I can ride as fast or as slow as I want, which is nice.
Here are my stats according to the computer. I did the 14 miles in in 1 hour 8 minutes. Not a very fast time. Probably because I stop to text people and take pictures. Oh, and make new friends. My max speed was 31 mph, but my average speed was only 12 mph. I'll need to get my average speed up to around 17 mph for the century.
More next time. If anyone is reading.
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