Rain again.....

Yesterday I dredged up the nerve to take that new bicycle of mine out for a real ride, around 8am when few people were out and about to get in the way or mess up the sounds of nature. Total of about 18 miles, which is basically a loop of the river trail system. I've done that ride often in the very distant past, but haven't done it all the way in recent years/months/weeks. Weather was cool, but sunny. Scenery lovely -- the river running full alongside, greenery,  Autzen Stadium, geese in the pond at Alton Baker Park, the usual.

I started out still feeling a bit shaky on the bike, unaccustomed to the new center of gravity compared to past bikes. But somewhere along the way, seems like it was about halfway, where I crossed a bridge from one side of the river to the other, I suddenly realized that things were feeling natural, that I was becoming one with the bike. Shifting (as in turning the wheel the right way) was becoming automatic. In places I found myself using 5th and even 6th gear, moving rapidly and enjoying every minute of it. Took me 1 hour and 32 minutes, door to door, non-stop. And it was wonderful.

Then yesterday afternoon a neighbor suggested climbing Skinner's Butte near downtown Eugene this morning. And she doesn't just climb it, she knows the network of trails and we go up, and down, and around, and up, and finally down again, so it takes awhile and is a good workout, including some stairs.

Being a glutton for punishment, I thought this would be a good idea. My body and mind resisted this morning, but I knew I'd enjoy it so off we went. Again, we were early and there were few people out, but the hillsides we walked through were peppered with large swaths of beautiful, large, fully-opened white Trillium popping against the greenery. Really a spectacular display, and wonderful to see. My Fitbit called it at 86 minutes and over 8000 footsteps, measured from when we got off the bus a few blocks away to when we returned to another bus stop another few blocks away. We got home just in time -- the wind was picking up and cooling off, and the rain wasn't far behind. So glad we went!

No telling what tomorrow will bring. I'll see how my body reacts to these two days, and then decide.