Tour de Pastry

So, Tropical Storm Debby came through here last week and stuck around for a few days, making things wet and then windy and then wet and windy and then just windy, and finally just hot. Yes, Little Debby has a snack for you -- but it's made out of brussels sprouts, and you hate brussels sprouts.

Thursday morning, it had quieted down enough for me to go do my six-hour endurance ride. I went north to Sanibel again, this time on my touring bike, and got home in time for lunch. Friday, I did a little recovery ride. Saturday, I went out early for a couple of hours, then rode a couple more hours with RandoGirl. I managed to keep my weekly mileage over 200, even after missing the first half of the week.

And I was tired. Sick and tired, really. Maybe even weary. I had to resort to bribery to get back on the bike Sunday morning.


The sun was almost up when I left the house about 6:20. The sprinklers were still going in my yard, watering the melampodiums that I'd planted earlier in the week, and the temperature was comfortable.

My first bribe was Einstein Brothers, for an everything bagel and a cup of coffee. Nom-nom-nom.

From there, I headed north. Ordinarily, I head west and go up Crayton Road and through a bunch of quiet neighborhoods, but as it wasn't yet 7 am on a Sunday morning, I went straight up Tamiami. It was kind of cool to have a six-lane road all to myself.

I went over to Pine Ridge, up Vanderbilt Beach, and then took Livingston up to Coconut Point. I stopped at Panera there, had a scone and another cup of coffee, and then rode back. It was much warmer by then, and there were lots of bicycles out.

The route back was pretty much the same, except this time I didn't take Tamiami. It was 9:30 when I got home, but still hot. I got cleaned up and watched the last hour of the Tour de France stage. It was good.

Meh.

When the weather turns bad, we all have trouble getting out on our bikes and riding ... which is really pretty stupid, if you think about it. We ride bicycles because it's supposed to be fun -- we don't get paid to do this. When it's really hot or really cold or raining or windy or whatever, we sometimes force ourselves to get out and ride because we will otherwise suck at riding when the weather is nicer. "Ride now, or you'll get dropped in a couple of months at the Tuesday group ride." "Ride now, or you won't have the saddle time you need for that 1200K."

We use threats of potential future misery to motivate ourselves to ride when it's miserable.

When that's not enough, I resort to bribes. Ride a few miles south for a bagel, then north 20 miles for a scone. Sometimes, it's enough -- but lately, it's the same old roads in oppressive heat and/or painful headwinds.

Fortunately, I've got a nice change of pace coming up later this month. I'll tell you about it later this week.