Pink Shoe Covers

WOW! i had a great ride today! i am in love with this trail that i
found. unfortunately- it takes a good hour to get there, so it
always makes for a long day.

so today it got chilly again- the 60*F of yesterday gave way to a
brisk 45*F today. i did not want to wear my full winter booties, so
i wore my regular shoes and my pink shoe covers- a good friend of
mine gave me a pair to match my bike, and i have to admit that it was
quite fun wearing them today. that shock of pink shoe helped to
brighten the overcast day.

anyway- so this trail... it goes all the way up to wisconsin and it
is very well maintained. it is basically like riding on a really
well maintained fire trail. easy to ride on with the road bike and
it gets you into the forest preserves. with the fall colors to
drink in, it is easy to get distracted. i even scared the biggest
dear that i have ever seen! it jumped into the trail in front of me
and started running. it was quite a rush! between the dear, the
fall leaves and the osprey that i saw... it was easy to turn my
2.5-3 hour ride into something a bit longer... just a little
further. just a little further. 5:15 later, i rolled on home.

i did wish that i had someone to share today's ride with. i could
have spammed the NU cycling list, but i just am not close to any of
thse guys and wanted to do a longer ride today. i miss my riding
buddies back in santa cruz- it takes a while before you settle into a
riding partnership. my training parter from last winter is burnt out
right now and is now speed skating (will try that next week!). so,
it was me and the Da Vinci Code... my other hint for staying out on
long rides... an iPod and a good engrossing book. i am done with
harry potter for a while and wanted to spice it up with a little dan
brown. i don't think that he is all that great a writer, but it is a
fun read and a page turner. definitely makes the time fly by. so-
as i write, our hero and heroine are escaping the louvre and dashing
across paris.

i really loved my ride today. i am achy- since my back and shoulders
get tight from riding these days (something on my fit is off right
now), but i feel good. it took me a while to defrost my feetsies,
but they are toasty now in my fuzzy slippers. so, now for dinner, a
little baseball and the office. all and all, a good day.