The View from 58-inches High

I made it out on a long ride for the first time in months. Now that I know I’m not going to stop breathing I’m willing to push myself a little more. This morning was the first 40F day we’ve had this fall and, as is always the case with the first couple cold rides, we all spent the first 15 minutes before the ride comparing wardrobe choices. We always seem to go from 65F mornings to 42F mornings in about a week. But highs will still be in the 70’s. Depending on how long the ride it, we could see 25F temperature change. We had all dressed slightly differently; base layers vs wind vests, long sleeved jersey vs arm warmers, and knee warmers vs bare knees.

Six of us took off at 8:00am for a perfect ride. The wind topped out at 4mph and the sky was bright and sunny from the time the sun came up. We headed north for a more scenic ride. The first 15 miles were very shady leaving us all with frozen fingers and toes. It felt like we didn’t pass any cars once we made it to the country. The ride offered so many beautiful sites I wish I could have stopped and photographed. We passed the bottle fence with the sun just rising on the other side of them; lighting them like little lights. As we got toward Hutto, we saw a half-dozen or so hot-air balloons just getting back from their flight. We then passed a small herd of zebras just off the road in a penned up area. At the gas station we pointed out the two hippo statues wearing bikinis to the two new Flyers. They seemed like a huge disappointment after seeing real zebras! On the way back, we passed a huge group of monks who stopped what they were doing and started taking photos of us.

In the end it was only 50-miles, which was shorter than I’d expected. It was a beautiful ride with some wonderful women. and it made me feel totally pro again (or at least like a legitimate amateur).