I left the house at about 4am to try and escape the heat. There was a slight breeze most of the day, but not bad enough to be detrimental to speed or energy. And that early on a Sunday traffic is almost non-existent. It was my most pleasant century to date, without a doubt. I've learned to pace myself much better using my heart rate monitor and not having the sun beat down on you makes a huge difference.
I looped the lake twice and took it to the end of the Santa Fe Trail. I don't know why, but I envisioned an urban hip little downtown area with a few shops. Eateries. Coffee shops. Maybe a small park. A historic site. Heck, even a historic marker. I mean, really, this four mile stretch of nice paved trail has to be taking people somewhere...
 |
| An ungraceful end to the Santa Fe Trail |
Or I guess not. Some graffitied signs, a field, a few industrial "businesses" housed in corrugated tin buildings with junkyard dogs, and a literal end to the concrete is all there is. Not even a nice little round-about or a water fountain to look forward to. At least it was a shady spot to eat my PB&H before heading back in.
Speaking of dogs, on the way back I ran across two that were hanging out on the trail. Luckily, after our experience on Cow Creek, Jason picked pepper spray for everybody, and I had just attached it to my handle bars with a fat rubber band. They didn't look like the friendly type, so I ripped the spray off my bars and readied it, a little concerned with the limited space to maneuver on the trail, and charged forward to their position. Surprisingly, they were more startled and wary of me, both jumped back a little as I zipped past. Crisis averted and pepper spray put away.
After my second loop of the lake, I headed back home and did a few miles with the kids to finish out the century. The heat was really starting around that time and I very glad to be done with the ride rather than right in the middle of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment