Monday and Tuesday I simply did coffee shop rides that accumulated for about 3 hours of riding in total, mostly in casual clothes. Not only did the legs need a break, but also the head did.
Wednesday I hopped back into action with the old guy ride which is usually a chill effort for about 3 hours. The best part of the ride is that it kicks your ass to get out of bed at 7, to be at the ride by 8:30. This means that all the training is mostly done by noon, where you happen to roll into the coffee shop after the ride, to hang out and chat with all the crew. It really is a good spin to the mid-week hump. Then you have the rest of the day to do what-ever. Its great!
I might try to incorporate the Wednesday ride into a double-day next week.
Yesterday was a decent 4 hour ride starting off with Josh and coffee time. We chatted about our plans and the upcoming California trip while trying to avoid being shit on by the thousands of birds that hover around the Starbucks looking for treats. Josh wasn't so lucky as one of them got a direct hit.
It is impossible to efficiently carry enough water in the dessert for a 3+hour ride. When you get into the 5-6 hour rides a cyclist has to find a water source somewhere. This leads to stopping by the odd gas station to fill up on Gatorade, sometimes multiple times on a ride.
Because we rely on these pit stops so much, you start to develop a routine. One gas station in the middle of the dessert in particular I HATE going to. Its the one with the RoadRunner on the sign(every cyclist in Tucson knows it).
Of the probably 5 times I've gone there this year, there has been an employee there to make my experience terrible. Usually as I roll in, even before I get off my bike someone is there to yell at me from across the parking lot not to lean my bike against the wall....or the bench...or the plant, and definitely not to take it inside. Its one thing to say it in a nice way, but these people are just being bastards about it. Even when going to the counter to pay for your purchases, they usually treat you as if you stole their first born. Isn't there some saying somewhere that you should be nice to people who are your customers?
So, the past few rides I've been stocking up a little bit earlier, or waiting a little bit longer to avoid this place which has a prime location.
Yesterday while on the ride I was pleasantly surprised when I rolled up to the GasCity on Houton(first time being there), and promptly leaned my bike against a wood pile. A friendly employee saw me and in a super friendly way said "You can take your bike inside if you want."
I was kind of taken aback by his friendly-ness and smiled at him, while I walked my bike inside and leaned it gently against a wall.
Huh, thanks GasCity employee for being a nice guy.
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