Had a GREAT day today!

So Teri has been out of town since Friday (NO, that's not why today was a great day!). When she heads out, I try to schedule some time with the boyz and do something fun. So a few weeks ago, I sent a note out to everyone inviting them to come hang out for a day. I only got positive responses from Brandon and Steve. Which really worked out well. Now that I have my new bike, I've been wanting to ride more and more . . . and of the boyz I hang out with Steve and Brandon are the only two that have bikes or rather that have bikes that they ride somewhat frequently. So they planned to come down around 8AM this morning and we would head down to the Orting Trail. (Click link for map). They arrived around 7:45 and we got the bikes loaded up, changed clothes, etc and headed down. I forgot my helmet . . . oops . . . but decided to head out anyway. We hit the trail just after 8. This was also my first time using my clipless pedals and shoes. As we got going, I felt the burn in my legs and we cruised up to about 14 - 15 MPH. This was a comfortable pace for me and allowed us to chat as we rode. After a couple miles, my legs started to really burn, but I knew I was good for more than that! So we kept going . . . along about 5 miles, Steve and Brandon asked how I was doing and I said "fine, but I'm re-evaluating every 2.5 miles" . . . so we kept on going to 7.5 miles . . . at about the 6 mile mark, I was thinking that 7.5 miles would be a good point to turn around. However, I caught my 2nd wind at about 7 miles and at 7.5 miles, said we'd press on to 10 . . . Well that 2.5 miles was a gradual climb and at the top of a short hill at 10.1 miles, I decided that rather than push myself too hard, that would be a good midway point.

So we dismounted and had some pulls on our water bottles and tried some Clif Goo Cubes . . . Strawberry. They weren't bad, actually pretty tasty. We hung out for about 20 minutes and headed back. Boy coming down that small incline made quite a difference and we were probably going 20 - 21 MPH down . . . towards the bottom of the hill, Steve showed me what drafting was all about and the three of us were easily able to maintain 17 - 19 MPH on the flats. The ride back seemed a LOT easier than the ride out, so I suspect the whole ride out was at a very slight incline. When Steve posts the ride details on his blog it will be interesting to see the elevation profile of the ride. (UPDATE: I just checked Steve's Profile at MotionBased and he's already uploaded the results of our ride, so here they are: RIDE RESULTS)
We ended up back at the parking lot at about 10:20 . . . 20.21 miles in all according to my cycle computer. It was awesome! I was really wishing I had pushed on for another 5 miles out to the end of the trail . . . but I'll save that for next time. This was a good ride to REALLY get used to the bike, shifting, drinking while riding, and above all my clipless pedals. I do need to raise my seat up just a bit more, and probably increase the tension on the pedals a bit as I was popping out just about anytime I stood up.

After the ride, we grabbed some breakfast at Ma's place. Came back to the hosue and napped a bit while watching football. Hopped in the hot tub for awhile, and ordered some pizza while watching Snatch. GREAT relaxing Boyz day. I had a BLAST! Can't wait to get on the bike for some more miles . . . and hopefully make it back down to do the whole trail! My initial goal is to ride out to Yelm in the next few months. Assuming the rain isn't horrible and it doesn't get too awfully cold, I should be able to make it by the end of the year. It's about 34 miles and relatively flat depending on the route I take. I'll have Marcus give me a ride back home however. I'm definitely not in 70 miles biking shape! :-) But I WILL get there!

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the support today! It was great!