Biking, Part 3:

Biking is a blast.  Nothing else to say.  It is fun, downhills are a rush, uphills are a chalenge, I like going fast!  it's amazing fun!  I think you would all be surprised at how fast you can train yourself up to being able to do really long distances too!  Most of us can go 10 miles easily our first time out.  Others have no trouble going 20!  I'll tell you one thing though that any person who has ever biked for speed already knows.  Wind SUCKS!  Also, as a quick little side-note.  A bee landed on me while I was riding, and I looked at him and said, fly away little friend, and then I realized it was a hornet, and he stung the life out of me while I attempted not to crash and tried to brush him off at the same time!  So, listen, just as a reminder;  bee = friend, leave these guys alone, they don't want to hurt you anyway, just interested in what your up to.  Hornet = not-friend.  These guys don't care what your up to they just want to mess up your world.  Kill them with high speed and in great quantities.

I just went for a 56 mile ride over the weekend.  56 miles along the southern shore of the great lake Ontario.  I averaged around 22mph on my way west, with a nice wind at my back.  I got to see some really cool stuff too!  Like these weird tree's that seemed to grow old shoes!!  HAHA!  Apparently the local legend is that if your shoes stick to the tree then your wish is granted.  Interesting.  I also got to see some FANTASTIC country side on my way out.  Apple orchards that went on as far as you could see, and a lake that stretches out farther than your eyes can focus for miles and miles and miles.  Cool stuff to be sure, but the wind.... ugh.

I turned around 1.5 hours into the ride, having gone about 34 miles, knowing it would take me longer to get back and knowing I had taken a rather meandering route there, I decided I would just go a little past my finish and turn around again to get to a full four hours.  By this time I had already realized that I had forgotten my gel's and food, so I was going to be very hungry... But I had no idea how hungry hungry could get!  So I started, blissfully unaware of how much the wind and lack of energy would totally and completely kick my rump all the way back home.  Seriously, I mean wind is one thing ok, but how does it even make sense that you would have to pedal to keep from stopping when your going down hill???  The wind was just 10mph and gusty.  So i couldn't even ride in a straight line, incredibly exhausting.  I know that i can ride about 17.5mph on flat ground with no wind, but here i was seriously struggling to keep my speed over 14!  By the time I was half way back I couldn't even think straight.  I mean it, I remember thinking very irrational things, like my bike hated me, and that I might never get back.  haha!  Your mind starts to play tricks on you at some point for some reason, I haven't really figured out why or how yet...  Either way, about 10 miles from home, having struggled against the wind to even maintain a 16mph average for the trip, starving and having no energy left, and being sick of riding miles and miles with no food right through prime apple country, I decided to take an apple.

I carefully looked up the name of the farm I would be sampling from for mention here.  It was called Glendale Farms and it was AWESOME!!!  I am near positive this was the best apple I had ever tasted.  I put another in my pocket for later and with new found vigor I hopped back on my ride after my 5 minute break and off I went.  The last 10 miles were hard but not like the 10 before it.  Here is the moral of the story.  If you forget your nutrition on a long ride, not even a wishing shoe tree will save you from the suck.  Another moral of this story, is that if you really are hungry, God probably put an apple tree or 500 nearby just for you.  Another even crazier moral is that if a bee lands on you while riding your bike, don't wait to see if it likes you before you brush it off!  Yet a fourth moral of this story is, that if a bee lands on your apple while you are biting it, then ride straight into the nearest shoe tree... well OK that last one might not work out so well.  But, remember, it might not be so wise to wish upon a shoe tree, if your bike shoes are the one's you'll need to get yourself home, you might get stung by a bee.... ok, I am done now.

Anyway, the point is, if you get out there and do something, amazing things will happen to you and you'll have great stories to tell at the very least!!  Have fun, and post your craziest moment / coolest discovery while riding your bike in the comments section!  I bet there are some awesome spots and stories out there!  Let's hear em'!

Check out more photo's of the area here:
WISHING TREE!!!