There, to Boring, and Back Again...

....or Rob's "Sunday base mile madness" ride. (see here for map of route.)

Various firsts here... first time I've ridden my road bike for a distance ride in months. (See "Piper's suburban surprise" for the last go-round, which involved some crying and some fantastizing about sandwiches.) First time I've been to Boring. First time I've almost destroyed a full fender out of pure hate... wait, no, that's not new.

So, the night before, Ben and I were out at the launch of Lightbar -- a tent in a backyard in N/NE Portland that's rigged up with full-spectrum lightbulbs and other pieces of brightness and warmth. The whole schtick is to have folks in good moods and bright clothing enjoying not being depressed out of their gourds in the Cascadian winter.

This is only important because: (1) I now own ridiculous sparkly sunglasses and a strapless cream dress (thank you, Goodwill) and (2) we were out late.

At 6:30 Sunday morning, the Trader Joe's workers (yes, I live on an alley) started some phenomenal noises. Project sleeping: aborted.

So - get up, on five hours of sleep, and make good breakfast. Make lunch. Drink all the coffee. Get Janky ready for a good ride. Head over to Stumptown, ready to go...

...and wait a good 15 minutes because my fender is rubbing on my wheel which is rubbing on the ... and so we move this and then... so then adjust this and then... (Anyone who's wrenched with me can attest: my patience with particulars isn't my main selling point.)

...so, I'll skip the details. Fender fixed, group leaves, fender not fixed, have to stop, Ben/Chris fix the fender, we end up inadvertently dropping our own ride group and beating them to Boring. (Yes, Virginia, this is a city in Oregon...)

There was sunshine, and only one flat. Double-win. No wrecks, no other mechanicals. Fantastic. There were some good climbs, and many flat spots, and a smooth Springwater and some great rollers. And a fantastic descent. (And, yes, I go down hills well. It's the big hips. And - oh, right - the not braking...)

My big win? I somehow had some "go". Not infinite - after racing the fancy-cross-guy into Boring with Ed, I tried to sprint up a hill and there was nothing there; legs just wouldn't go. And, as ever (hill rides never worked, I guess) - everyone can out-climb me (Ben/Chris/Tabor...).

But - there were points in there where I felt good and strong and capable and FAST ... and not like the fat slow girl that was barely keeping up. Moving around in the group, taking my turn to pull (maybe too slow, maybe always too slow). Pushing myself up hills, sprinting the occasional stop sign.

This was a fantastic, if rather foreign, feeling.

This also means that I spent most of yesterday a bit out of it and exhausted, and felt the need to eat my lunch today before noon. And this'll be two nights in a row of early bedtime. Eh, so it goes.

Here's to post-ride beers, pie-as-training food, and riding the hell out of one's bike...