28.3mi

Given the great weather last night, I couldn’t resist a ride. I really needed it too. August 15 is always a tough day for me, and I needed to exorcise some angst from my soul.

I started at the Weldon Trailhead, my typical jumping off point, and rode north (or east — kinda depends on which way the trail has turned). Once again, the first few miles were trouble, and I entertained turning around at the I-64 bridge, which would’ve been only five miles.

I did get to the bridge, stopped and had some water, and watched some birds of prey as they circled high above me. They’re always circling at the bridge — I guess there’s good hunting there — and today I saw three or four of these guys riding the currents and updrafts, far above my head. Just beautiful. After marvelling at them for a few minutes, I decided to plow ahead up the trail.

And it was like that the whole ride. I’d get to a good turnaround point — Pitman Hill Road, Caulks Hill Road, the Greens Bottom Trailhead — and just continue riding. I ended up at the Page Extension bridge, about 14mi from where I started. Of course, since I was there, I had to ride up the switchbacks, and take on the 75′ vertical climb. It actually wasn’t that bad, which was surprising since I had already ridden so many miles.

Coming home was a quiet trip, and I decided to try it in one long ride — with just one quick stop to take a couple of photos. By the time was done, I’d put 28mi behind me in just about 2hrs 15min. Not too shabby I think.

So, did I purge myself of anything significant? I dunno. I do know that I felt much better after my ride than before it, and that’s probably the best measure of all. I also crossed 600mi for this season, which is a real accomplishment to me. Certainly, that’s a good thing!