11 October 2011 Ride: Rainy Seasons

Waking up this morning, it seemed as if continuing to contemplate a goal of 10,000 miles for the year was totally insane.  I was tired and dragging and doing 20 or 25 much less 35 seemed like an enormous uphill challenge for the day.  At first I thought I would need to squeeze in the ride in the morning as rain was in the forecast for the early afternoon and on.  But the forecast changed with a chance of rain not coming until 3:00PM.  So, after doing a few quick errands, I drove to the Gordon Long park on Gregg and took off from there by 9:45. 

I had really pushed myself yesterday which is one of the reasons I believe I was dragging this morning.  Once on the bike, I knew I had to go at a much more relaxed pace and that definitely helped me mentally.

 I saw a crowd gathered around the P&G building and stopped to inquire if everything was all right.  "Fire drill," I was told (note the fire truck behind the trees).   Seems as if even corporations assign fire or safety marshals among their ranks: at least that is what I assume the employees in red vests are.

Just shortly after taking the photo of this fine young looking basketball goal, it began to rain and did not let up for almost an hour.  So much for no rain in the morning.  I really don't mind riding in the rain aside from the safety factor.  I was in a quiet neighborhood and headed back for the trail so that wasn't really a problem.  A bit too refreshing, though, as I began to get chilled and my hands were getting numb.  It is the rainy season in Panama and even the locals complained about the heat and humidity.  It never seemed that bad to me while we were down there.  We did get some rain on our first day during a hike but the canopy was so thick we hardly noticed it.  On my bike ride in the rain forest the rains held up until I was done about mid-afternoon.  I ended up more covered with mud after today's ride than I did on that rain forest ride.

I'm not sure that I completely captured the image in my mind of this cart abandoned along the trail amidst a field of yellow flowers.  Something about the incongruity of the two or the idea of a shopping cart full of yellow flowers.

A change of shirts and a stop for a cup of coffee helped take the chill out and me get through the remaining 20-25 miles of riding once it stopped raining.  The sun peeked out for a time and that helped as well.

 By mile 25 I was feeling rejuvenated and couldn't believe the contrast to the morning when I felt so tired.  I wanted to get in at least 40 miles but by the 30 mile mark I was thinking 45.  And, if time wasn't a factor, I would have easily ridden more.

On my last mile, I came across Wes whom I know through facebook but never met face to face.  He is surely to be admired for using his bike as his sole means of transportation.  And, he rides everyday as well, logging many more miles than I do.  It was good to finally meet him and we had a nice chat.

Today's Ride:  4hrs. 1min.  46.03 miles.  60°-70° Rain for an hour.  Miles YTD:  7,136.63

Number of miles per day needed to reach 9,000 miles by the end of the year:  23.00

 ...to reach 10,000 miles by the end of the year:  35.35

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