After A Week of Rain and Soccer

Soccer Camp, Rain, Double Sessions.   Those combined to keep me off the road bike for over a week.  The Marin miles were down a bit, but that bike still got almost 40 miles.

Lucky Lucy Lu the Welsh Terrier had a day of bad luck when she got mauled by a boxer.   Lucy is fine and she has not even the slightest inclination that she was within seconds of dying. He had her by the neck and was just about to do the shake.  I had seen and studied the Dog Whisperer whenever he had to separate an attacking dog from it's foe.   I have to say that it works, it's simple and easy.

Because of other commitments coaching soccer is limited to two days a week working with the keepers.  That's fine for all concerned. Keepers don't usually get much training and the three at the high school are eating it up.

Sunday Stats.

Miles 31
Time  2hrs 40 mins
Max speed 26.4

A good ride that had a shaky start.  The desire to ride was not there at the start.  That's happened before and as usual, things began to kick in nicely.  During the college years when road running was part of the off season training, doing math problems mentally would help the miles pass unnoticed.  Today was a few other things that got me into the riding zone.  There was a pretty long gradual climb on  this route that I was dreading enough to consider changing the route.  During this ride while the mind was wandering, I settled on a disturbing thought.  I couldn't shake it and it was actually getting me angry. So angry that I was huffing and puffing on the verge of yelling obscenities at my mental foe.  When I  finally snapped out of it I realized that the huffing and puffing was not my anger, but the hill I had been dreading.   Sort of like highway hypnosis, but on a bike. I had climbed that hill without even noticing I was doing it.  It was just as difficult as ever, but evidently, I slept through it.  

I was conscious long enough to snap a few photos.  Near the end of the ride I was overtaken by a couple of couples on tandems.  We talked a bit before I crossed the dreaded yellow line to snap a candid shot of them. 

These are big sunflowers