A Year In the Saddle

Today is the one year anniversary of my first ride to get ready for last year's Bike MS.

I hadn't ridden a bike in a decade or so at the time; hadn't worked out in six or seven years.

I rode, according to my log, 3.1 miles here in Gardner. And I thought I'd done something.

This evening I headed to the Mill Creek Trail, where I rode several times last year when traffic still freaked me out. I rode 9.3 miles and felt like I hadn't done anything, was pissed to run out of daylight and into bugs so quickly.

Beautiful as the trails are, I think I'm finished with them as a rider. Too many clots of pedestrians who spread out across the trail looking at something in the woods who are slow to react. Too many people with dogs on leashes with the dog on one side and the owner on the other, with the leash stretched out across the path. Too many kids looking at the train as they ride the wrong side of the trail, not paying attention to the fact that they're about to have a head-on with me while I grind to a halt and their parents shout at them to pay attention.

It's not that I'm all that fast, but so many hazards to navigation, I think I prefer the street where I'm the slow one.

Despite the short ride, I'm doing pretty good for June so far, only the 6th and I've ridden over 70 miles. Long ways to go, since 70 miles isn't even day one come Bike MS, but still...