I rode my bicycle to church! One of our two churches is still out of reach, 20 miles away and much of it not well suited to cycling, but the other is only 10 miles distant and almost all of the ride is along a lovely bike trail, so this weekend I decided it was within my reach. On Saturday I made a dry run, in order to know what time to leave home Sunday morning. Turns out it's almost exactly an hour's ride, give or take a minute or two where the trail crosses major highways. I was psyched; If Janet can ride an hour each way to church, so can I!
The first time I biked that distance the last half of the trip was so miserable anyone who saw me had a right to doubt my ability to make it home. This time I felt so good I made a two-mile detour in order to pick up something at Home Depot. I eagerly awaited repeating the trip Sunday morning.My expectations were well-founded. The trip was delightful, even though the early-morning fog meant I had to take a little extra time at some of the intersections. Traffic may be sparser early on a Sunday morning, but what cars are there tend to go a little faster, and be less prepared to see a bicyclist, especially one materializing out of the fog.
I arrived at church in time to cool down a little, and change into more appropriate clothes. One might argue that a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers shouldn't bar one from church, and I'm sure I would have been welcomed; but I'm equally sure that my wet t-shirt wasn't a good idea, and I know my fellow choir members appreciated the fact that I changed and applied the deodorant I had thought to bring with me.
The ride home was hotter, but it didn't matter because a cooling swim was awaiting me at home. It soon became obvious that despite how great I felt after Saturday's trip, my body hadn't fully recovered from that 22-mile exertion. By the end, I was hurting! Even so, I made the return trip in an hour, so I must not have let my exhaustion slow me down any.
I can't say I was much good for the rest of the day; the most ambitious thing I did was order pizza and drive out to get it. But it was worth it! I've been riding enough lately that the shorter trips leave me a bit unsatisfied; I needed this weekend's challenge.
