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D-Tour 2007: Glendale, AZ to Del Rio, TX myThoughts

OK — that’s better…

It felt like I couldn’t get on the road for anything the other day. I had a flat tire Wednesday morning that I didn’t discover until after I had suited up for a bike ride, packed my work gear into my pannier, and headed out to the garage. I drove the car to work that morning but not until after I fixed the flat. That night I was determined to ride the bike for at least a few miles. I grabbed Zander, put him in the baby bike stroller and hit the road. After I got a couple of miles from the house – the wind picked up – going in the ‘other’ direction and the bike stroller acted like a big parachute. I only got about 7 miles like that.

So I brought the bike in the house, put it on the bike trainer and rode another 5 miles. The next morning I rode the entire 19 miles to work AND I took the long way home for another 21 miles. Now that’s more like it! After this week on the cruise (whaaaoooo!!!!) I only have three weekends left before my 1000 mile bike ride. One of those weekends, my Columbus friends are headed to Vegas which is only a five hour drive — I really want to head that way but that would take another weekend out of my training time. We’ll see — in either case, I have a lot of riding to do between now and May 26th.

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D-Tour 2007: Glendale, AZ to Del Rio, TX

What is going on here?

I rode for 26 miles on Friday and then for 30 on Saturday. I intended to ride on Sunday but with church and family functions I never got out there. Monday I wasn’t feeling well and I was actually going to call off work, but I had just too much to get done before my vacation starting this weekend, so I worked from home: translation – no bike ride. Yesterday I had to go to another building several miles from my normal work place, so riding the bike was out of the question. So, although I had intended to ride my bike for four days this week with at least 20 miles a day – I haven’t been on the bike yet. So today was going to be different. I went to bed early last night, I got up on time to ride the entire way to work without having to catch the bus, I got dressed and headed to the garage to get on the bike… WAIT FOR IT…. That’s right – I have a flat tire. Arrgghhhh!!!!

If I’m going to ride 1000 miles in less than six weeks, I need all the training I can get!

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Ministry myThoughts

I have my light on

If you read my recent post I got hit by a car! then you already know the story behind the title of this post. But to recap – I was recently hit by a car while riding my bike home. It was a very low speed collision and no one was hurt. My bike had some damage, but nothing major. When it happened it was after sunset and at the moment of impact my first thought was “I have my light on!” I even shouted that fact out as I pulled my bike out from under the bumper of the truck. The driver got out of his vehicle and was very shaken by the impact. I can only image what was going through his mind at the moment he hit me. But the question I find myself asking is what was going through my mind. Let me explain what I meant when I shouted “I have my light on” – I wasn’t in shock, I was upset.

I know it was dark but the street was well lit and my bike had my laptop pannier (saddle bag) that is a bright reflective yellow color on the side as well as the fact that I had the required-by-law headlight on the front handle bars. When I said “I have my light on!” what I was really saying is “How did you not see me! I’m 300lbs of mass heading your way AND I HAVE A LIGHT ON!”

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