I spy Old Jenn...

I'll start by saying I had the best ride in 2 years on Tuesday! My legs finally decided to join the rest of my body for a little spin and it was awesome!!! I've been SOOOO consumed by school and work that my fitness has really, really suffered. Now, RAGBRAI, the MS 150, and the BDB100 were all fun last year, and I've had plenty of good rides don't get me wrong, and as ODWonn says, "all rides are good"...but you just have some rides that are great.

The T/Th crew was all there...Cuz, Cheetah, the MARS, Tammy, Mike, Colin, JCon, Charlie (thanks for the pump), John EEE, Dan, and about 15 other peeps. But, there were also special appearances by JBar, Geo, Hboo, and a few others I had not seen in over a year. As usual, we did a neutral roll-out, and safely sailed down the River Trail until we reached the other side of the BDB. I'd already decided I was gonna sit on the back because every time they pick it up in the front, I find myself mid-pack in a bunch sprint/surge to catch the soon-to-be break, which just sucks because I either can't get around or a small gap forms and I kill myself trying to get back on.

Well, I thought I was far enough back until I turned around and saw we had a lot more riders than I thought (how we double in size from point A to point B I don't quite understand but we always do). Like clockwork, we hit the road and ta-dow....Mooney jets....I keep up longer than I have been lately, but I just can't hold on. DANG IT, DANG IT, DANG IT....not exactly what I said at the time, but what's appropriate for the blog.

I see Cuz a few yards back and I've been cycling long enough to know that 2 are better than 1, so I ease up, we share wheels, and we are now on a mission to catch the front group which we easily have in sight. BUT (there's always one of those), we were stopped by a few red lights downtown and the front was no longer visible.

Here's where the "best ride" part comes in. No longer visible did not mean others still weren't ahead of us and my secret goal was to get up Ft. Roots before they came back down. So here we go, I've got Cuz, Geo, and Dan with me. I'm cranking 21-24, in the wind at some points, and my facial expression could have been that of a woman possessed by demons. At one point Cuz says, "we aren't going to catch them", to which I replied, "I know, I'm just trying to burn some lbs." but in my head I'm thinking I gotta pound the rest of the way to Ft. Roots before the front group descends...so I crank harder. At some point we picked up JBar and he tells me I'm pulling like a wild woman!

Did I make it to the top in time? Well, no. I got within .25 miles before the others came flying down the hill. All was good though. Geo, JBar, and I finished climbing and then we chatted for a bit. JBar was nice enough to let me suck wheels on the way back until we reached Broadway and then we parted ways. So, I was WAY alone at this point, but I like riding that way ever once in awhile. After the Cantrell overpass, I decided to haul it to the car as it was getting dark and I had no lights (that's good motivation). I kept it between 21-23 and just told myself it was similar to the sprints we've been practicing during bricks (albeit it was a pretty LONG sprint). At any rate, it was fun and I felt great afterwards.

The best quip of the night was Cuz yelling, "that's old Jenn riding". I had a smile bigger than Texas and felt warm and fuzzy inside. Yes sir....the Old Jenn is back, hopefully....we'll see the next time I ride.

Until then,
SK