30 Days of Biking Day #5

I'm tired.  I was so wired after last night's Midweek Madness ride that I couldn't sleep.  I had to set the alarm this morning (something I almost never do) so I could go to an early-morning appointment.  I don't think I realized just how tired I was until I got on the bike today.  I just didn't have any get-up-and-go.  I also didn't have any dirt mojo.  I felt clumsy and tentative.  And then I did something stupid and fell over, twisting my ankle really good.  So, I'm sitting here with an ice bag on my elevated ankle typing today's entry for the 30 Days of Biking Challenge.

In retrospect, it really was a good day, though.  My morning YIN practice was outstanding.  My body feels very balanced and healthy right now.  Then I did some bike maintenance (bleeding my mountain bike brakes for the very first time -- success!).  I headed out early and met a new friend for a loop at Arastradero Open Space Preserve.  She's a very interesting woman (retired pro motorcycle racer) and we've known of each other, chatted a bit online,  and met at a race but never had the opportunity to really talk before today.  That's one of the things I like about a mountain bike rides -- you really do get to know the folks you ride with.  After our loop, I headed out with our club ride -- the Dirty Velo Girls.  It was freezing and I'd worked up a good sweat on the first half of my ride so I felt stiff and cranky and just wanted to finish.  Everybody else was really chatty tonight.  That's one difference I've noticed between co-ed (mostly male rides) and rides with women.  Women TALK!  A lot.  It was really fun catching up with friends I haven't ridden with in a while.  I was especially impressed with one rider who was dealing with health issues last season.  She's back on track health-wise and just killing it on the bike!

Is anyone else tired of this freezing, windy weather?  Riding during the daytime isn't too bad, but I've had night rides the past two days and I'm really ready for sunny + 70.  However, the one really cool thing about tonight's ride was the full moon rising (you don't get to see that in the afternoon).  It was HUGE and clear over the preserve.  I snapped a few photos I'll post over on Facebook.

I plan to get a good sleep tonight and will take an easy day on the bike tomorrow.  I'm still debating whether or not I'll race single speed mountain bike at Toro Park on Saturday.  I haven't raced that course in five years and I HATED it.  I've been dreading the race and that tells me it might be best just to opt out of this one.

http://www.plus3network.com/activity/Arastradero-a-Couple-of-Ways/1745855

tonight's crazy crew on the Dirty Velo Girls ride