Hello February!

February came in like a lion! it was roaring cold last week! I figured there would be no way I would ride over the weekend, but this is Texas and the weather likes to change quickly & dramatically! Saturday was gorgeous, but I had already ran (4 miles!) and thus ran out of spoons after doing work around the house.
But on Sunday I managed to find time before the Superbowl to get some miles in...14.4 to be exact. I took one of my favorite routes just outside my hood. It has smooth roads a few hills, sometimes lots of deer, but more importantly a yellow house with blue trim! (next time I'll take a picture of it!)
So after the hill & the blue house, I found myself on a street (West Rim) that brought back post stroke biking memories and I was once again reminded of how far I've come. I remember I was training to go ride in France, so this was Spring 2009, I think it was very hot, but I'm not sure. As I was riding down the street, I noticed I was having a hard time catching a jogger ahead of me. When I finally caught up to him, he wasn't a jogger, he was a runner, he was running about 8 mph! Slow in the biking world but fast for distance running (esp for someone who looked to be in his 30's) Well this time I was taking it easy at 13 mph and when I noticed I was going so slow, I kicked it up a notch!
On my way home on Shoal Creek there's a hump in the road that when I was tri training I would try not to let my speed dip below the speed that I was traveling at the bottom by the time I got to the top. So, I haven't been following my stupid rule (oh and you can't shift either) and today I picked 16 as my number (that was my speed when I crossed 2222) as I approached the hill, I was at 18.something, so 18 was then my new number..almost made it...speed dipped to 17.9, but I brought it back up to 18 to finish.

I keep wondering if I was upset w/ myself for being so slow that day when I finally passed the runner, but now looking back on it, I'm glad I have that memory, cuz it gives me a milestone for every time i ride on West Rim.

Miles for this ride: 14.4
Roadkill for this ride: a big rat!
Total miles for the month: 14 (rounding)
Total miles for 2011: 75
Miles to go: 1425 to hit 1500!