A Wonderful Day

Today was absolutely fantastic. It started early with a trip to the club and 2 hours and 50 minutes of spinning. I rode very conservatively since it was my first day in a week, and my first ride since seeing the cardiologist. I wanted to make sure I didn't push it to hard because I really didn't want to have another a fib episode. That really is no fun anyway. I felt good the whole time and only visited zone 4 briefly. It was great to get back and see everyone and also thank them for their thoughts and get well wishes. There are so many truly nice people that attend these classes on a regular basis. A few that I hardly even knew were asking how I was feeling. The only uncomfortable thing was having so much electronics on me. Between my heart rate monitor, the cardiac event monitor, and my iPod, I was truly wired.

After returning home and having a light lunch I decided it was time to head out on the newly converted single-speed. What a blast! Bob was right, tooling around on a single speed is like venturing back to one's youth. I started out by just cruising the neighborhood to get the feel then I headed to Eagle Lake and rode across it on the makeshift trail created by the ice fishing folks. I did get some peculiar stares while I was out there. I rode nearly all the way across the lake before turning back and hitting the trails. The ride was pretty relaxed since I had already done nearly 3 hours in the morning and I didn't really want to spike up my heart rate too high.


I was amazed at how stable the bike was on the snow. Having it packed down by trucks and snowmobiles certainly made it much easier.
Once I returned to the trail I continued to take my time and ride at an easy pace. It actually felt good to not be pushing it. It gave me a chance to take in the surroundings and really enjoy the beauty of the afternoon. Also, I had it all to myself.






Some parts of the trail were a bit dicey due to the ice and it was difficult keeping my traction with the rear tire on many of the uphills. I ended up riding for just over an hour and covered approximately 9.8 miles. Not very far and pretty slow, but it really didn't matter. It was still a joy to be out and give some new life to an old bike that had been collecting dust in the garage. I'm looking forward to when I begin commuting. As I said in an earlier post, my goal is to begin with is at least 3 days a week. I still want to attend spin classes a couple mornings a week.












Holding true to form, after returning home I of course had to wash it down before returning it to the stable. I know the Amigos and Madd Dog would get a kick out of this. Oh, just so you know Madonna, I did not use the bathtub.

The cold James Page Iron Range Amber Lager also went down well after nearly 4 hrs. of riding.

Total Ride Time: 3 hrs. 53 minutes Total Calories Burned: 2,101
Dinner will be gooooood tonight.