Free advice and 32 miles on the bike

Well, I met up with Cliff today (he actually picked me up) and we road the trail around White Rock Lake. All told it totaled 32 miles. Without checking I believe that’s longer than any ride I did in Jacksonville. That’s OK with me as both Cliff and I needed the mileage. Me for the poundage and Cliff for the upcoming Shiner Bash.

We parked at the tennis center that sits on the trail section before the lake. Once ready we rolled out. Cliff did a great job showing me the layout of the lake trail and route. There were tons of people out there this morning. I can honestly say that I haven’t seen that many cyclists in one place unless it’s on TV. There were all kinds. Lazy Sunday morning riders to groups/teams hammering it. There were also huge numbers of walkers and runners.

: Image via Wikipedia

The route was pretty good but one thing it wasn’t was flat. There weren’t big hills on the route but for a guy who came from Florida where was biggest hill was a speed bump they were the Alps. I had to re-learn shifting because I had gotten used to being able to ride an entire route in one gear down in Florida. I think these hills, though, will be great for me in the long run. Cliff took the time to point out the Loving Hills section down near the South end of the lake where the real hills are. I caught a brief glimpse and they didn’t look pretty. Maybe in a couple of months I can give them a try. He also showed me where Flagpole hill is.

Overall the ride wasn’t bad but I have to admit I couldn’t wait for the last four miles to get over. It was into a strong headwind that at times made it very tough. I’m sure me being way out of shape had something to do with it.

Overall it was a great ride and I appreciate Cliff dragging me out.

Oh yeah, the free advice. There was a guy just off the trail who had a couple of chairs setup and a big sign that said “Free Advice”. He didn’t have any customers when Cliff and I rode by. I said that I guess in this economy he has to give it away since nobody is going to pay for it. Cliff said you get what you pay for. That’s so true.

http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

Oh yeah, how do you guys like the theme? I found it late last week and I seem to like it. Is there anything annoying about it or hard to understand/read?

http://mildstallion.wordpress.com Al

So far it looks good. Admittedly, I usually check out your posts in an RSS feed.

http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

Thanks, I do the same thing. I get a lot of search engine traffic though that doesn't come via the RSS.

http://MildStallion.wordpress.com Al

That search engine traffic is a strange beast. By far the biggest source of hits on my blog is a Google Image Search result for Ed Grimley. Last I looked, I was the #2 result. Weird.

http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

Yeah, I see weird stuff like that too. It's amazing how popular my oatmeal article is.

http://www.331miles.blogspot.com 331miles

Flagpole Hill? Hills with nicknames are sure to be doozies. As far as free advice goes, I agree wit Cliff!

http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

My thoughts exactly. I had heard of Loving Hills but didn’t know where they were. Cliff showed me where the typical exit from the hill section was and then I saw the entrance. Ironically, it’s called Loving Lane and didn’t look fun at all.

http://mildstallion.wordpress.com Al

32 miles is impressive for being off the bike for so long.

http://bikingtolive.com Bryan

Thanks, I thought so too. I actually felt very good throughout the entire ride except for a couple of the rises (calling them hills probably wouldn’t be right) and at the end into the headwind. I didn’t look at the overall pace on my computer but it couldn’t have been too high. Probably 12 or 13 mph. I’ll have to check that later.