Full Path

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	2:28:28	3:44 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	2:20:06	3:38 pace
Distance (mi )	38.50
Moving Speed (mph)	16.5 avg.	25.4 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+731 / -728
Avg. Heart Rate	133 bpm	Zone 3.2
Temperature (°F)	45.5°F avg.	46.4°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	N 0.0 avg.	N 0.0 max.

Start Time: 09:07:14 AM
Odometer: 1344.88

I always know that I have slept too long when I wake up refreshed. At 6:15 I had an 'oh crap' moment as I jumped out of bed trying to figure out how to get a good ride in before the kids woke up (not possible, by the way). The upside here is that my wife likes to sleep in on Saturdays and I can usually get 2-3 hours later in the day by offering to let her sleep in. Not ideal, really, because if I am out by 5, I can get back from a 50 by 8 and she still has a good chance of sleeping in AND she does not get stuck alone with the kids on the weekend. I was telling a friend that children require fairly rigid scheduling and if you don't use your time, you lose it and it never comes back. Being in a great relationship helps---you can usually figure it all out---but part of being in a great relationship is to take the partnership thing seriously and give back at least as much as you take. I bought muffins and scones on the return, but that still is not enough, I am afraid.

Realizing that I had no chance of a full 50, I decided to try to get a 40 in---which is basically just the full path with some small extensions. It did not work and I came up 1.5 shy which is not a big deal, but it left me under 100 bike miles for the week. I don't know that I care. I think I still have a good chance of hitting 1500 road miles before I am forced indoors. It strikes me that Winter goes from December to March. Most cyclists imagine themselves to be 3-season cyclists and the ones still out there think they are 4-season cyclists. It's a bit of a personal deception---I am trying to be a full 3-season cyclist and have no pretensions about rolling out there in any of the Winter months---but it is a challenge to stay on the bike through the Fall and I have been surprised at how much I am still riding.

Even in the Winter the path is pretty full if I leave late. That harbor detour remains dreadful--narrow, winding, and full of people all the time. I noticed that they had blacktop down on the new path, so I am hoping it is only another week or so on this detour. As I have said before, the Lawrence-Foster detour (my version, not the sanctioned one) is actually just as pleasant as the path. I was surprised, given the temperature, how many people were out in shorts. The lakefront was fairly windy and while it was not a numbing cold, it ate into the bones a bit---the way cold does on damp days. Everyone with shorts had legs red with cold---which makes me wonder why people refuse to wear tights. One wonders how many of the knee problems people have are related to the cold damaging their unprotected ligaments there. If you don't like tights, knickers work just fine to protect the knees---and the few inches of exposed skin are well protected by active muscles.