Friday, May 7, 2010

Suprisingly Well

Only 5 people showed up for volleyball last night and one had to sit down early with an injury. That leaves 4, which means doubles. I hadn't played doubles in years and wasn't sure what was going to happen. But, it went surprisingly well. Having Lew as my partner certainly helped. Doubles means much more jumping and running, especially when you are getting picked on because they don't want Lew hitting. We play to win and its more fun that way.

I wasn't expecting to feel like going for a ride today. I'm usually pretty sore and tired the day after playing. Today was a gorgeous day, temps in the mid 60's and a strong breeze. I couldn't resist. I decided on a route mostly lined with trees to minimize the wind and hey, I ride a recumbent, so the wind doesn't have as much affect on me as the other bikes. I wasn't sure how this ride was going to go. It seemed like I had zero energy on Tuesdays ride, but todays ride went surprisingly well!

I headed out to Bald Hill road.

Just after taking the picture above, a rider on one of those other bikes turned onto Bald Hill. I hopped on the Aero and followed him, not trying to prove anything, but didn't want to make a bad showing for recumbents. After awhile, I caught up with him and said hello. He had headphones on, but took them off to talk. Why does everyone have headphones on all the time now? I have no interest in listening to music when I'm riding. I'd rather listen to what's going on around me. Not just the oncoming cars, but all the sounds. The wind in the leaves, birds, cows, goats, and a little girl yelled out hello to me today as I was passing by. The other rider didn't seem that interested in talking, so I went on ahead. He followed me out to the end of Tuttle Road, where I decided I wouldn't push it today and turned around.

Here are a few pictures of Tuttle Road on the way back.



I stopped at the Lamprey River near Waldeigh Falls to take a picture where it was flooded back in February. This is the same spot where a picnic table was wrapped around the tree on the right of this picture.


And looking back down the bridge.

The last stop for a picture was the same spot where I took a picture of a field on Jacobs Well Road. Looks like they are getting ready to plant. I will have to stop here in August to get some fresh corn. I don't know if it will be growing in this field or another one, but will keep an eye on it.


The ride turned out to be one of those rides where I'm really glad I got out and rode. I did much better than expected. Perhaps the extra weight lifting I'm doing with my legs is paying off.