A couple of weeks ago, when the weather was in the high 70's and sunny, a friend suggested we hit the bike trail after work one day, ride into Arlington and get dinner. At the time, it sounded like a great idea! I'd done it before, it's not that far, it would be fun!
I was pleased that yesterday was a pretty nice day, just over 60deg and sunny! It seemed a bit windy...but I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. My friends arrived at 5:30 or so and after filling up the tires, we headed out towards Arlington on the Minuteman Bikeway. It was a nice night, lots of people out walking, biking, rollerblading, and biking.
To be honest, I hated the first three or so miles. It was hard and it hurt. But after that, it felt easier and I relaxed and enjoyed the evening and the company. Once we got to Arlington, we locked up the bikes and headed to Thai Moon restaurant for dinner. If you get to Arlington Center and enjoy Thai food, go there. It's delicious! (I highly recommend the Tropical Noodles and fried banana squares for dessert.)
While we were in the restaurant, it was getting close to sunset - so it was not getting warmer and it was getting darker. I was starting to get slightly anxious. Little did we know, enjoying dinner in the little restaurant, that rain clouds were slowly gathering to the north and headed towards us.
It was about 20min after 7 by the time we were finished paying the bill and back on our bikes headed to Lexington. It's only 5mi, not too bad right? Let me tell you, those were the hardest 5mi I've had to get through in a long time. Not only was it freezing, the wind was blowing 20mph straight at us, it was now dark (and we're all wearing black), but by now it had begun to rain. I was miserable. I was cold, wet, tired, and for some reason, it was physically challenging for me - and that just made me mad. Not a great combination...
The whole ride home, I kept thinking how I would much rather be running these 10mi than biking them. I can run miles and miles and still feel good but I can't bike 5 measly miles without being completely exhausted? I told my friends to please count me out the next time they decide to go for a bike ride. I'll go for a run instead. Biking is not my jam. Running? Now that's my jam.
1 comment:
When I started to read this I kept thinking "But then you'll have to ride home....and that's all uphill!" It's only a 4% grade given it was a railroad but the hardest ride is Arlington into Lexington because it's pretty much uphill the entire time (in the dark! In driving rain! Oh my!) Glad you made it home safely!
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