Gravel Roads and Moonpies

I did NOT want to ride my bike today; I put it off forever! But I have a huge 108 mile ride looming over me on Saturday, and I want to at least be able to say, as they cart me off on a stretcher, that I DID ride this week. So I went, and I realized something very important and fairly obvious: I have been letting my rides become a burden, just another bothersome task to accomplish. And that’s not why I ride. I ride, or at least I started riding, because it was, um, well, fun. And lately, my rides haven’t been so fun. So today I let myself off the hook. No planned route. No projected speed. And I could stop when and where I wanted. Just let the road take me and see what happens. This strategy worked beautifully. I had a GREAT ride, on a beautiful day, on gorgeous roads, under blue skies (at least until the end). My serendipitous path led me onto a road that myseriously turned into gravel as soon as I was in the middle of nowhere. Now, I do live in Medina County, but the only other road I know of that does this is Angie’s, who lives in the boonies. (Hi Angie!) So I wasn’t too surprised, but I did call Chad to have him look up my location and tell me how long the gravel would last (only about 1/2 a mile).

A little while later, I spied the Chatham General Store. Now, I have ridden past this store on countless rides, and I always think, "Boy, it would be fun to stop!" But anxious to get back as fast as possible, I never have. Today, I stopped. I marched in, bought myself a moonpie, used the bathroom (oh sweet bliss!), and plunked myself outside on the porch to daintily inhale my moonpie. I haven’t had a moonpie in YEARS, and it was sooo good, and I rationalized it by saying that I’d burn off the 300 calories on the way back anyhow.

So here is the MOST flattering cyclying photo of me EVAH:

And no, that is not a sunburn. That is just the color I turn when I’m hot. Heidi calls it our "peasant blood" coming out. I really do look happy about that moon pie!