Rides were meant to be fun!

February 19, 2018

Rides were meant to be fun!

So one of the things I have always suffered from on the bike is data riding. Just what does that mean? Even when I would go out on an easy ride, it was almost always with a heart rate monitor and my Garmin 510 loaded with every tangible bit of information possible: mph, time, elevation gain, wattage output, and so on. Then, the second I would get home, I would connect to the computer and link up to Strava so I could analyze my ride and use that information to determine if the ride was a good on or not. Seriously, I think I typically spend more time looking at my bike computer than I do looking around me.

I have found that in riding with Katelyn, I really need to change my reasons to get on my bike. First, I know that if I push our rides to be "performance rides," she will burn out quickly and never want to touch a bike again. Second, I need to remember that this Canada/Mexico ride is meant to be an adventure, not a race. And so our training needs to reflect the attitude I would expect to have in June. For Katelyn, her main focus right now is to get stronger. My main focus? To have fun on a bike again!

February is a great time to ride in Ripon, CA--the almond capital of the world! All the trees are in
full bloom and the bees are buzzing everywhere

With that in mind, Katelyn and I went out on a 22 mile loop. It is the same one we did about a month ago and she was hurting all over and was pretty miserable. This time, we agreed that we would take it slower and enjoy the beautiful day. As we pedaled out, Katelyn started ramping up the speed and I had to tell her to dial it back--she has a tendency to burn out early and not pace herself. Anyway, about 6 miles into the ride, we pass by a ditch with some old looking melons. So Katelyn says, "Dad! there's some melons! let's look at them!" At this point we are well beyond them and holding speed. And that's when I remembered my new training and told her to turn around so we could go check out the melons. Next thing I know she is down in a ditch asking if she can carry a watermelon with us. On a bike. 15 more miles. a watermelon. So next thing I know, she has a watermelon wedged in her frame which she carried for the rest of the ride. We also stopped to pet another horse and to take some pictures with the almond blossoms. Then we stopped at our favorite nutrition store and got a fitness shake and hung out and talked for a while. In the end, we only averaged 14mph but we had a really nice ride together and when I asked Katelyn how she felt, she was all smiles. Fun on a bike. Who would have thought???