Friday, July 1, 2011

Waffle Sunday



The stack of waffles I made were consumed without the burden of a schedule, just a clear mind and the option to do nothing. About 30 minutes after my third waffle the non-scalding weather conditions and a free schedule got me antsy and I suggested a quick bike ride to Lake Overstreet. Before long my wife and I were peddling out the door. My waffle Sunday had transitioned into a bike ride with an unexpected partner.

I didn't know it at the time but it was the first time Deb and I spontaneously went on a ride together. There was no planning for location, time or distance we jumped on the bikes and that was it. A lack of planning offered an endless option of turns and trails and it didn't matter when we had to turn around because it was waffle Sunday. The weather and free time combination had transformed my cycling relationship with my wife. For the first time our ride had no purpose, no clipless pedal training no technical trial training just a ride.


The weather stayed on our side the entire ride and it never got too hot. If you ask Deb, she would say it was blazing hot the entire time but she never complained about it. The power line route was shaded and relatively dry, the Maclay trails were in good shape and the Phipps property was packed down and fast, even the portion of Redbug we rode wasn't too bad. We even saw a scary looking Trapdoor Spider looking for a meal, these guys look like medium sized tarantulas and will no doubt catch your attention if you see one.


Although we were powered by waffles, they will only sustain you for a certain span of time and Deb surpassed the maximum miles per waffle on our way back up from the Lake Jackson lakebed. I was near the top of the steep gravel section of the climb when I heard the crash. I coasted down to the survey the damage and I found Deb sitting next to her bike covered in leaves and not looking very happy. She had teatered over going up the loose gravel when she lost her will to continue however she was certainly not the first person to crash at that exact spot. When she told me she had no interest in getting up I realized that she just had her first bonk and she handled it better than my 100th. I zipped ahead to the tennis clubhouse and bought some Gatorade and pretzels for a recharge and 10 minutes later she was fine despite her anxiety over having to climb the power line hill next to get home.
Power Line Hill
Our fun ride ended safely and with plenty of laughs, some of which came from me making fun of the leaves stuck to her skin. Deb's food fantasies grew to a point where she had to go to the grocery store to satisfy them. Sadly it was the day of 4 inches of rain and 8,000 lightning strikes so our kitchen was without power well into the night and we were stuck with some crummy Vietnamese take out. Sorry Deb...


I can't wait to ride with my new riding partner again.