Spring finally arrived this week, so Monday I got my bike down to the bike shop for some routine maintenance. I was fortunate enough to get it back the same day, so of course I had to go out for a ride that evening. For future reference, though, I probably shouldn't go riding right before dinner -- halfway through I started feeling pretty crappy and extremely hungry.
Rode with the bike club on Wednesday night, but it was the "family fun ride" and the pace was a little slow for my liking. Also went on a short ride Thursday night, which wasn't the smartest thing to do since it was kind of cold. But I really wanted to test my new clipless pedals. ;)
Saturday was fun and exhausting at the same time. A friend and I from work went up to North Baltimore to ride the Slippery Elm rail trail from there up to Bowling Green and back -- the round trip is just shy of 27 miles. Around 22 miles in, we both "hit a wall" and it got really hard to keep going, but since the car was still five miles away we didn't really have a choice so we just gutted it out. I was pretty tired when we got back, but after an hour or so the runner's high -- or the cyclist's high, in this case -- kicked in and I was feeling really good. :)
Jumping from 5-6 mile rides earlier this week straight to a 27 mile ride probably wasn't the smartest idea, but then again, at least I should be able to hack the bike club's bi-weekly fitness rides now; usually those are only 15 to 18 miles, although they do push the pace a little harder usually.
Now here's hoping the aloe lotion does its job and makes my arms stop hurting so much; it's still early in the spring so I didn't really think much about sunscreen. Apparently 2+ hours in bright sunlight, even when the UV index isn't supposed to be really high, is enough to give you sunburn. I definitely need to make sure to pick up some sunscreen before I ride again; no reason to let my skin burn or tan any further if I can help it.