Cycle Time

I took some time in the transition... Gatorade (I had forgotten how much I really love that stuff). Ear drops. Dry off. Dry off some more. Tshirt. Shorts. Socks. Sneakers. What side of this damned bike rack am I supposed to be on to get my bike out? Oh here we go... And finally walk the bike to orange line before you can get on. (I have never been able to master that step down on the peddle with the one leg and swing the far leg over the bike as you move down the road... I have tried and tired but never figured it out...)
Out of the parking lot and down the hill I went. There were 2 women in front of me. And there were cops holding traffic at the intersection we were quickly approaching down that hill. BRRRRR - I could feel the cold air in my ears and it made me nervous (they can be sensitive to the cold air like that). But then I turned the corner and forgot all about my ears. I passed one of the women in front of me. I didn't want to get stuck behind her on this hill. And beagn the slow ride up the hill.... Working out at the gym with a headset and music is so much different than this. Your mind can wander some but you really have nothing but the task at hand to focus on. Just keep peddling. People passed me. Lots of people passed me. But I kept going. I thought of the ride up Lakewood to Route 34 on the way to the beach. I thought of the ride up Lakewood to Route 35 and Route 34 on the way back from the beach. I thought about how many times the light changes even when in a car on that road. And I just kept peddling.
I don't know how long the hill took - I should check it out on MMR.
I got to the top. Made the turn and headed over the highway. That's about the first time my dream popped back in my head... Maybe someone was cheering me on from above? Would he be proud? SHIT - don't think about this here you have 8 more miles of riding to do. And on I cycled.
CF passed me at some point. She was trying to get me to peddle faster but I just wanted to finish. I didn't need to break any records doing it.
I passed a young girl and her mom along the way. The little girl seemed very scared on the bike. KP passed them later on and the girl had taken a header off the bike.
There was a hill down that I could have peddled and made up some time. Instead I just took pleasure in the bike coasting down the hill.
I turned into the office park section of the ride. I learned by mistake that the coned off section was not for the cyclists. It was for a soap box derby. Thankfully it was clearing the field not a soap box headed for me. THIS was the second time I thought of the dream. My dad used to catch the kids at the end of the race when I was a kid.
Again - needing to keep my wits together - the exit of the business park? CRAZY short steep hill! OMG... I could have been standing still I was cycling so slow. I didn't realise how steep it was and I didn't down shift fast enough. Ooopppss....
Not much more now. Just that hill we came down right at the beginning and into the transition area.
That transition time wasn't as long. But darn I wish I had more Gatorade!