A nice relaxing ride

Today was nearly a perfect afternoon for a ride. A bit windy, of course, but that's par for the course here. It turns out to be 32 K exactly to the High Country Cafe, and I got there in 1:20. (A year ago, near race pace got me there in 1:10.) This is high on my list of good breakfast places, especially if you like butter tarts. They have two kinds, both of which come with or without pecans. The first kind is huge. The second kind is dinner plate size. I kid you not, and they are excellent! The pastry is to die for. Though I've heard they've changed owners, so maybe it isn't good anymore, though I still see lots of cars there in the morning. Maybe during my long ride planned for Saturday I'll drop in there.

The ride back was almost exactly the same time, so I was being consistent and all the wind changes cancelled each other out. Or something. 64K 2:39 to be precise, average speed was 24 Kph, and tada! the average heart rate was 123 bpm! Even better, for about 10 minutes or not quite just after turnaround, I was totally in the zen bike zone. I was on the drops, 84-86 rpm, flat ground into the wind, going about 29Kph. I was relaxed, comfortable, spinning smooth, feeling great! Now to learn how to do that for 6 to 8 hours. Going up Richter's and Yellow Lake. After a long swim.

I think this bike fit is pretty close to exactly right. My legs feel great afterward. I could have gone on for much longer, and since Saturday is looking nice, I'll try that out. Oddly enough, the sorest muscles right now are the downward dog arm muscles, probably because I was on the drops for quite a while, and that's new to me. Even so I ran some cold shower water on my calves. They've been just a bit tender since after the run on Monday.

During the ride I thought of a great name for the ultra-marathon team that Jenna is getting together, but now I see that Shannon has come up with the winner. Print those T shirts!