bicycles, hemlet, and bandits

yesterday i did bike the drive. while many people treated it as a chance to get out and ride their bicycle on lake shore drive, i viewed it as a great training day. I woke up at dawn, got dressed and headed out just as the sun was rising over lake michigan. really cool to see, the sky was red, and winds had changed from the night before and were coming from the south. by the time the day was done (9:30am), the sun was bright blue and it had warmed up to the mid 60's

i rode the course 2 and a half times for a grand total of 72 miles. i was cruising coming back up north with the wind behind me. i was cruising around 22 mph sometimes even 24 without really pushing myself too hard. the downwind was a little harder, i think i was working to keep 18. anyway over the time I was out there i averaged 19 mph on the bike over the course of the 72 miles. it felt fantastic, but probably can't use speed as an indicator for MOO as lake shore drive is essentially flat as a pancake (it even includes all of the holes you see on pancakes).

so the good news about the drive is that people seemed to be a little smarter this year than in the past. i didn't see a single tricycle in the left lane, which is good because it would have been a disaster.

the one thing i still just do not understand is the challenge that people face when it comes to wearing bicycle helmets. i mean seriously folks its just plain stupid. i was also shocked at the number of people not wearing helmets when the instructions specifically said they are required to participate. i just looked online. the cost of registration was around $40, there are helmets, and ones that are somewhat stylish on sale for $20. doesn't make sense. and please don't blame gas prices for your stupidity.

also, i just wanted to say a big "you're welcome" to all of the people who were out there riding without numbers, while i am sure that some of the numbers had blown off in the wind, i am sure there were a decent number of people who were out there without paying. i'm glad you had a good time, next year, play along like the rest of us.

yesterday afternoon walked around for a couple of hours to try to loosen up the legs. and then slept for 12 hours last night.

last week: 11:53 total training time, it was a good week.