Second Lone Outing

I took my second lone bike ride today on the same route I took my first--Foothills Parkway Over and Back. It was a gorgeous morning with the trees shading the road. It was a little hot and I downed a lot of water and Gatorade but it wasn't sticky. There weren't as many cars and motorcycles out there with me today. That was nice! Although, I will say, on the way to the start of the Parkway, I was riding in the right lane (on a four lane rode--two lanes on each side--with a median of grass) and a truck went whizzing by me IN THE RIGHT LANE! There was no reason for him not to get into the left lane--there were no cars in sight! That unnerved me a little bit but as soon as I started the climb up the Parkway, I got into my zone.

I think that if I were a Buddhist in search of nirvana, it wouldn't be in stillness and meditation. It would be found by physically pushing myself and in doing so, tuning out the rest of the world...the expectations and pressures. Knowing that after working so hard to get to the top, the greatest reward awaits on the other side...the downhill, or the finish of the ride, and a sense of accomplishment! How wonderful is that? As I was coming up the "other" side of the Parkway, I felt the ghosts of rides past. The little old lady with her window rolled down, hands out clapping and yelling, "Good for you! Good for you!" It makes you want to ride and not stop! Ever!

I think I will feel the ride today...my gluteus maximus is a little sore! I will probably work on the dress I am making and possibly do a little work on the quilt. At some point, I will dust more blinds (I was only able to do 4 of them yesterday. I'm highly allergic to dust and I felt the back of my throat tickling so I stopped. I don't think they have been dusted before! I'm putting them on my cleaning rotation schedule.) and vacuum. Brad doesn't know what time he will be getting home so I'm thinking of making something simple and that can be thrown together in 30 minutes from the time he calls to tell me he is on his way.