Smelling the Cows

Finally at 3:30pm I hauled my butt out of the house to get on the bike. Knowing the winds were 21mph from the NNW with gusts of 27, I knew it was going to hurt.

It was a beautiful sunny day. (well you know MN, it's always overcast with "sun"). The temps were around 52F.

I wanted to ride a metric century but leaving the house so late and since I am riding so slow these days I knew I would end up in the dark and I was very doubtful I could finish a full 62.5 miles.

I have pretty much emptied Rochester Cycling and Fitness clothing inventory (RETAIL THERAPY with EXTENDED GUILT!) so I was anxious to try out the new gear. Maybe I would ride faster with a fuzzy new PI thermal base tank and a very sexy Cannondale Featherweight jersey.

I haven't ridden the Genoa, Zumbrota, Mazeppa loop in ages and I really wanted to visit those sites again. I started out on 19th Ave NW turning North onto Valley High Drive then onto the Douglas Trail head. The winds hit! UGH!!! One thing though, that tank seemed to be cutting it with warmth. :)

I didn't have any speed. It seemed to take forever to get to Douglas but I was hopeful my legs would eventually warm up. I haven't done Genoa much this summer and my riding confidence has pretty much gone to pot since mid August therefore I didn't think it would be a very pretty site riding up Genoa. (I guess it's a good thing nobody took a bite on the WOW ride offer for the weekend.) Unfortunately I get way too nervous about Genoa hill and psych myself out long before I am there.

I made it to Douglas and headed west. UGH the winds! I reached the bottom of Genoa telling myself all sorts of things like "Think of it as a hill repeat, it doesn't last long". "It's not really a hill, it's a disguised flat". "This is what the 200k brevet in CO will feel like so practice the mental skills". NONE of this seemed to help so I settled into the tune of "Whistle while you work" BTW, that's an annoying little diddy when you are climbing.

I once heard someone say about Genoa, "If you have the gears, gear it down and pedal slowly and take as long as you need to get up, it then isn't bad". Well, that's crap. I was in the low gears and I still hurt. My legs didn't hurt but my heart did. Even when I WAS in shape it still hurt although I probably went faster. So I continued my ride, whistling while I worked and staying in a nice state of ANEROBIA.

I reached the top and continued to head West until I hit cty5. Headed North, more winds and turned West again onto cty22 (think that's the one :) I like combining 75th street and 22. With the combination of Genoa and the rollers of the rest of the two roads it makes for a nice challenge especially when you are tired, cold and the winds are hitting you in the face.

At this point on the ride, very few miles into it, I noticed my avg speed sucked! I was getting colder and I had a long way to go. I am way too stubborn to turn and go back home. On went the arm warmers and popped a few shot blocks. I was obviously lacking something.

Few miles go by and I am feeling a bit better. Amazing what a simple 100cals will do to someone. Then chug chug.....those 100 cals gone.......well it's the season to enjoy right? So I watched the cows, looked at the trees and tried to ignore my lack of "speed".

I had to make the decision, turn left and continue on to get the most out of the day or head back to Pine Island. Seeing that daylight was about to end, the decision had to be Pine Island.

When you do stop and smell the roses, or cow manure, it's amazing what one might see. I never had noticed this beautiful rock formation on Cty11. When you swirl down that hill you come upon a quaint farm house with a cute little bridge in the middle of the yard. Minnesota can be quite beautiful when the wind isn't howling down your neck and the snow isn't up to your armpits.

At this point in my ride I was low on liquids, fuel and energy. I was also freezing. I didn't want to stop to layer up because I just wanted to be done with it. I was getting down on myself regarding my pace, my energy and my skill seeming to go to pot.

The only thing that matters is that I was riding. The snow wasn't up to my armpits, the sun was setting and it couldn't be more beautiful.

When you can, go for that ride even if your speed is down or your mind is telling you all sorts of nasty things.

Most importantly, don't forget to stop and smell the cows, it can be quite beautiful.