The absence of pictures from today's post should not be taken as an indication that the ride was boring or difficult. I was on a mission, and I simply didn't take the time to get the camera out and snap many photos. I did get a few, mostly to document the towns I went through, and I will upload those later.
One of my missions was to beat Hubby back to the RV. He went to play golf across the street, and I made it my goal to get back before he finished. That goal turned out to be pretty easy to reach. I had already had a snack and a little bitty nap by the time he got back to the campsite.
My other mission was to ride 60 miles in under 4 hours. That's riding time, not total time. The terrain was fairly flat, so I thought it was a reasonable goal. I have both a computer and a GPS on my bike, but I have them both set where they don't show the miles traveled unless I push a button. (Otherwise I start to obsess about how much farther it is, what my average is, what percent grade I'm on, anything else I can think of to whine about.)
The GPS is more accurate, of course, and I have it showing the map. That's especially useful on a ride like this, where I have no idea of the towns I'm in and I have the comforting pink line to let me know I'm still on the right path. The bike computer is set to show my riding time, and I've started using it as a motivator or goal-setting tool. I pick a distance and a time I think is reasonable, and then I try to beat it. I also use the time to remind myself to drink. Every 15 minutes, right on the quarter hour, I make myself drink. That way I can't fool myself into thinking I've consumed more liquids than I really have. Oddly enough, I haven't had any of those post-ride headaches this week that usually indicate slight dehydration. Imagine that.
Today I was on the road back to the campground when I realized the time on the computer said something like 3:58. I rode as hard as I could, and when I stopped the bike at the RV, it read 3:59:59. Ha ha ha ha ha. (The GPS data wasn't quite as dramatic, reading 3:59:38. I had seconds to spare!)
I looked at the map for tomorrow, and it says we should enjoy some great views of Lake Michigan on the way to Green Lake. Uh.... I hope that's a typo. Since we are going WEST, and Lake Michigan is to the EAST, getting great views of it would mean we would have to pedal up Mount Everest or something. I'd rather not, thank you.
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