Some people who work in bike shops get their fill of bikes and bike-related intrusions into their lives at work. My dad was kind of that way. He still rode, but not a whole lot after us kids got bigger and more demanding. He would occasionally take his days off and head up to Levis Mounds, not just to ride, but also to scout for grouse hunting in the fall.
Personally, I'd rather ride my bike than do most anything on my days off, even if it's only for an hour or three. As Kevin says, it's cheaper and more rewarding than psychiatry, and it has the additional benefit of making supper taste extra yummy.
On occasion, I like to take off and do a ride that is well beyond my current fitness level, just to see what's in the tank. Some of those times include ankle chips and number plates, but usually I'm smarter than that and just do it for fun. Today's ride was like that: just for fun.
Murphy Hammerhands, scene of the previous evening's ultra-sweaty shenanigans, served as both the start and the finish venue. I ended up riding Murphy twice, Lebanon Hills, and Terrace Oaks, for about 70 miles on the day.
Along the way, I saw this log that looks like it belongs in Middle Earth. Hungry as I was, I didn't eat the amazing fungus for fear that I would shrink or grow like Alice in Wonderland and my new bike wouldn't fit anymore.
I was hoping this picture would turn out better. Of course you can't see it, but there's a Farmer's Insurance blimp over behind those trees. I think it was just being bashful when it saw my camera.
Yeah, I was still feeling pretty good when I took this picture. I was at the Lebanon Hills parking lot, about to ride the South Metro Dirt Roller Coaster. Afterwards, the bottom-left number was much closer to 40 and I wasn't feeling as chipper.
This is what it looked like from space on a rather blurry day. I crashed, bonked, got rad, helped some dudes fix a flat, cramped, gave out some business cards, ate pizza at Kwik Trip, drank five bottles of water and a Red Bull, and tried to take a picture of a blimp. We'll call it a good day off. Thanks, Google, for the blurry image.
