Plenty of Time

Had a great ride with Lynne yesterday. We left her house around 1:30 thinking we had plenty of time and rode to Windsor and back. I had to be back by 3:30 to pick up my kids. We took off at a good pace with a tailwind pushing us along.



I felt really good. Maybe it was the shot of caffeine I had before we left or maybe it was the thrill of getting out on my bike on a beautifuly day. Either way, I felt great and it seemed like we were flying.



We took O street out to Kodak and then Lynne suggested we climb the steep hill out south of Windsor that is part of the Pelican Lakes Triathlon. No problem, we have plenty of time....



We crossed 257 and rode through south Windsor, by Water Valley. Everytime I'm out there I think of all the times I walked my dogs in that area back when it used to be an open field. Now it's full of high-end homes.



We turned south and went up "that hill". Same hill Kurt and I used to run up years ago when we lived in Windsor. Back then it was a narrow little dirt road that no one knew about. Now it's a wide paved road leading to million dollar homes.



I tried to stay with Lynne as we charged up the hill but couldn't quite do it. I decided then and there that I need to ride hills every week from now on...



We turned around at the top and flew back down. Still thinking we had plenty of time to get back to Greeley.



We rode through Kodak and back out to O street. I look at my watch and it says 2:43....I need to be back to Lynn's by 3:15 so I can get my bike in the car and get to Monfort by 3:30...uh oh. No problem, says Lynne.



I don't know what it is about riding back to Greeley on O street - whether it's a slight uphill or whether there is a mysterious headwind that automatically appears whenever there's a cyclist in a hurry. Either way, it always seems to take longer to get back than it does to go out there! (Lynne said she swears the wind "swirls" out there, changing directions constantly).



Anyway, we kept a steady fast pace all the way back. At the intersection of 59th Ave and 4th Street, it was 3:15....then we hit a red light....I'm starting to panic. As soon as it turned green, we took off. Uh oh...another light...it's green - yay - lets go!

We made it back by 3:25. But this is the funny part. Lynne was having work done on her driveway so here are all these guys working out front and we come flying around the corner. I jump off my bike and run to her house in my bike cleats, jumping over the flower bed to get to her front porch. She runs in to get my keys and ten back out to the car...I run out next, still in my bike cleats, racing to the car....Lynne has quickly put my bike in the back of the van. She tosses me my keys as I jump in the driver seat and take off. I bet they thought we were nuts!

All in all a good ride, but a very fast one even though we had "plenty of time".