Viper
05-28-2012, 10:19 PM
Finished the final BBQ of the weekend. Sun was setting and I felt like I could eek in one last ride. "It's still about 80*, hot, you love this stuff and you'll regret it M-Th when you can't always ride and certainly in December...so ride" I thought to myself. The fact I took-in about 3K calories for dinner was also inspiration for some perspiration.
If I hustled it, I could get to beach # 1 before sunset. No problem. Arriving there I watched a couple throwing rocks into his/her Rock Buckets. Apparently there is a game to be had, you throw a pebble about ten feet and see if you can land it in the blue bucket (for boys) and then the wife/girlfriend throws into the red bucket (for girls). They had a blast.
The lifeguard was on duty, till 8pm and doing his Porch Sit (which consists of reading a book and sipping iced tea). Been there, done that. About five hundred times. The 6-8pm sit can be the best. It's a Sunset Sit and if the sun is right and you had a good day, the last two hours can be the best part of the entire day.
Could I get to beach # 2 in time? I gave it 90% effort all the way out. My face was probably purple. It felt purple. I was sweating so much I couldn't tell if the vented lens on the Oakleys had sweat in the upper corners or if the image was the actual vent itself. I had a few moments of delirium. Ten miles of near-max effort in hazy heat can do that. I arrived at beach # 2 in time.
Could I get home in time, before dark? I took a look around, sipped some water and hauled arse. The weeds along the beach have flowers. Never noticed them before, turns out they may not be weeds afterall. Taking photos I noticed my heart rate went down to 'quiet' after being 'loud' for quite a while; I have no idea what my max heart rate was or will be, nor the watts generated, but I know things like attempt, effort, goals, results and I know the feeling of a shower, clean after a hard effort with a cleansed mind and an easy night's sleep. We all do.
It was only twenty miles total, but wait I thought, "There were actual races today throughout the northeast which were twenty miles total." There is nothing to be ashamed about not doing more mileage, it's the effort in the miles that counts and I burn lots of wax on my candle every time I clip-in. Sprinting home in the big ring, "There is too much chain buzz in big/small" I thought as sweat pooled above my eyebrows, "Need to remove one more link from the chain and saddle height is fine, but move it forward a bit."
Stopped once to take a pic of an old hockey game. The Rangers lost. The Giro is over. The Tour de France is next.
If I hustled it, I could get to beach # 1 before sunset. No problem. Arriving there I watched a couple throwing rocks into his/her Rock Buckets. Apparently there is a game to be had, you throw a pebble about ten feet and see if you can land it in the blue bucket (for boys) and then the wife/girlfriend throws into the red bucket (for girls). They had a blast.
The lifeguard was on duty, till 8pm and doing his Porch Sit (which consists of reading a book and sipping iced tea). Been there, done that. About five hundred times. The 6-8pm sit can be the best. It's a Sunset Sit and if the sun is right and you had a good day, the last two hours can be the best part of the entire day.
Could I get to beach # 2 in time? I gave it 90% effort all the way out. My face was probably purple. It felt purple. I was sweating so much I couldn't tell if the vented lens on the Oakleys had sweat in the upper corners or if the image was the actual vent itself. I had a few moments of delirium. Ten miles of near-max effort in hazy heat can do that. I arrived at beach # 2 in time.
Could I get home in time, before dark? I took a look around, sipped some water and hauled arse. The weeds along the beach have flowers. Never noticed them before, turns out they may not be weeds afterall. Taking photos I noticed my heart rate went down to 'quiet' after being 'loud' for quite a while; I have no idea what my max heart rate was or will be, nor the watts generated, but I know things like attempt, effort, goals, results and I know the feeling of a shower, clean after a hard effort with a cleansed mind and an easy night's sleep. We all do.
It was only twenty miles total, but wait I thought, "There were actual races today throughout the northeast which were twenty miles total." There is nothing to be ashamed about not doing more mileage, it's the effort in the miles that counts and I burn lots of wax on my candle every time I clip-in. Sprinting home in the big ring, "There is too much chain buzz in big/small" I thought as sweat pooled above my eyebrows, "Need to remove one more link from the chain and saddle height is fine, but move it forward a bit."
Stopped once to take a pic of an old hockey game. The Rangers lost. The Giro is over. The Tour de France is next.