Sunday Morning Ride - Another beautiful day with temps in the mid 70's and very low humidity. I decided to ride along the lake heading north. This is a flatter route but much more exposed to any wind that's out there.

I noticed from the beginning that my quads were a bit tired from the hills on Saturday. No pain but I noticed that the quads spoke up anytime I tried to press. No worries as I was out to enjoy another beautiful late summer day. Although very unusual for me, I didn't really try to work on anything. I just rode.

It must be the cooler, dryer air but I felt like I could have ridden all day. It just all felt so easy. I did get to a logical turning point around 16 miles so I pulled over to take some water, check my email and take the return trip back. Most of the return ride was into the wind. Even with the tired quads, I had no trouble maintaining a reasonable pace. At one point I saw another single rider ahead. I was slowly gaining on him. I tried to maintain the same pace instead of increasing my pace to pass him as quickly as I could. :-) Still, I was soon going by him. I greeted him as I went by and I fully expected him to ride with me, at least for awhile. A few miles down the road, I pulled off at a marina that had a boat in the yard I wanted to look at more closely. Shortly after I stopped, I saw this rider go by. I guess he didn't want to stay with me but stay at his own pace. I can understand that!

After taking in the beauty of a shiny, new boat, I hopped back on the bike and headed back to camp. I still had 12 or 13 miles to go, and these miles were against the wind. But no major hills and a beautiful day to enjoy. I was pleased to see that 6 or 7 miles down the road, I again passed this lone rider. I offered to break the wind for him if he wanted to ride together, but he was ready for a break so he declined.

I thought about what goes through my head when another rider over takes me or I over take them. I tend to make a judgement about how fast they are (or are not), think about if I could ride with them (or not) and anything else that compares my ability to theirs. But in all honesty, I have no idea if they are out riding 400km or 4 miles. I don't know if they rode 50 miles of mountains the day before or did speed intervals. So it's really senseless to have those thoughts, but it doesn't seem to stop me. :-)

In the end I can say I was able to enjoy another fantastic day of cycling. Great weather, reasonable miles and a great time in the saddle. Good stuff!!