April Wrap Up

Well, now that Blogger has decided our blog ISN'T a spam blog (thanks, guys) - we are back on track.

We had a wonderful stretch of summer-like weather for most of the middle of April. It was beautiful - riding without the neoprene booties and those ridiculous tights was a welcome relief (it was also nice not to freeze). Of course, it was allergy season, and Ken was sidelined by a nasty cold/upper respiratory infection for most of it, the poor guy.

On Saturday, April 12 (click on the "show elevation" button in the left hand column) we went on a long-ish ride for this time of year (for us). It was a beautiful day - the forecast had been for 50s and showers, and we ended up with 75 and sunny. No complaints there. So we changed plans, rushed home, and got out the bikes. As we stepped out the door, it was sprinkling. By the stop sign 2 houses away, it was drizzling. As we started the first big-ish climb, it was pouring. And by the time we got to the orchard hilltops in Harvard, there was lightening and thunder. But at least it was a warm rain. We were about 1/3 of the way into our ride at that point. The rest of the ride was uneventful and beautiful (and steamy). We were a bit wet & soggy, but we did see a herd of deer grazing in a field in Harvard (once again by the Old Frog Pond Farm - apparently those organic growers ARE helping wildlife). Ken started cramping up about 8 miles from home, and simply wasn't speaking to me (or anyone else, I would assume) by the time we got home. Then, of course, he caught a cold, which was awful. Missed a day of work, even. Felt terrible for about a week and a half.

Since then, we've been taking it a bit easy. Ken has been riding the trainer a few mornings a week. I've been doing a weekly ride with some friends in town on Thursday mornings. In fact, last week, I conquered a nemesis hill of mine (but just barely). It didn't help that I was leapfrogging with a garbage truck up the hill starting at mile 10. With the allergies, my lungs were raw & burning at the top of the hill, and I coughed a lot for the following 24 hours while the burning continued. I can't wait to try that one AFTER allergy season but before its 90 degrees and humid.

So not including the roughly two hours of mountain biking that we did last weekend (it was yucky and cold, and seemed like a fun thing to do) I rode 115 miles in April, and burned 5630 kcals doing it over a combined 8 hours and 40 minutes. It wont be too long before a single ride is that long...

Total for the year for Karen: 191 miles or so. Not great, but better than last year.

With the days getting longer, I'm hoping we might start riding an evening a week, and one longer ride on the weekend, and then increase from there... We'll see. There is that whole work/reality thing.