The morning of the last day of August was nearly perfect with temperatures in the mid-seventies, low humidity, light wind, and a cloudless blue sky that was just achingly beautiful. I’d left around 9am, planning on only a short ride. But the weather was just so gorgeous that I couldn’t bring myself to turn around and head back home. This seemed like one of those days where you never feel the miles, and can just keep going and going forever.
And so I did.
I headed west on 199th, took Gardner Road south, then west again across the Antioch Wetlands branch of Hillsdale Lake, where a doe (a deer, a female deer) ran across the road, leapt the fence, crossed a pasture, and disappeared into the woods.
I took Sunflower Road north to Edgerton and stopped at the convenience store there. I was still feeling strong, so continued north on Edgerton Road to 143rd. At this point I began to feel the onset of fatigue, which became more serious as I climbed a hill on 135th in too high of a gear. The remaining fifteen miles or so turned into a bit of a slog, as the intervals I’d done the day before caught up with me. By the time I reached home my legs were gone, and even climbing the stairs at home made my legs feel rubbery. It was only 46 miles, but between hitting it hard the day before, and 48 miles the day before that, I was done for.
But still, it was a great month: 570.5 miles, 14.43 MPH average, 2175 miles year-to-date. Those may be modest numbers compared to commuters or tourists, but they’re pretty impressive for me. In fact, August was my biggest month of the year, and my second-largest month ever. Riding my first century probably didn’t hurt, either.
In January, I’d set my goal for the year at 3000 miles, and with low early-season mileage, it had begun to look unreachable, but now it’s looking more and more do-able. With solid September and October numbers, and perhaps a few nice days in November and December, I may just make it!
Extreme prunage on Sunflower Road
“Never mind those trees, the power lines must go through!”
The Django in front of a field of nearly-ripened corn
