Friday Ride!
What a day I had today, One of the best I have had in awhile. I think I turned the corner mentally while I was riding today and it made a huge difference. Let me explain.
Looks like I have gained quite a few new followers, so for you newbies to Adventure Monkey, I have Fridays off from the cube, and that means Fridays are for riding. I look forward to my Friday ride all week. I had a lot to do today, so I wanted to get an early start on the ride. I took Melissa and her friend to school and then it was daddy’s time. I checked the Adventure Monkey Facebook page to see if anyone had told me where I should ride the night before. I thought it would be fun to ask where I should ride and if it looked possible, I would go where my fans wanted me to go. I am going to do this again. It was a fun way to create a route.
I took the advice from Mr. Story, another photographer that made suggestions on the FB page. I would ride to Saffordville and the to Bazaar and back, about 60 miles. The gravel roads were still mushy, so I was going to ride pavement. I checked out the window and it looked a little foggy, but not too bad. The temperature was supposed to get into the 50′s. My thin but very warm outer layer stayed at home along with the thick gloves.
My glasses became wet and hard to see out of within 2 miles. I put the cover on my beloved Brooks leather saddle since I was riding in a thick cloud. It has been like Portland without the hip bicycle culture this past week with all the fog. I turned on my rear blinking light and my blinking headlamp too. I would be riding on Kansas highways and I wanted to make sure people could see me before they ran me over. Midwestern people are pretty nice and respectful, but not always towards cyclists. Seems a lot of Midwesterners don’t like to see somebody not using gasoline.
Riding in the cloud layer made the cold breeze feel colder than usual. I went riding in the snow when we were in negative temperatures and I felt colder on this ride because of the dampness. FYI – Please don’t ride on the highways when it’s foggy. This is not a smart thing to do. My Adventure Monkey didn’t want any advice from the Logical Monkey, so away I rode.
Weatherwise, it was a miserable morning. It was 35ºF with a blowing SE wind, strong wet fog and thick clouds overhead. I was cold and damp. My Adventure Monkey loved it. I was warmed up and pedaling strong.
I made it to Saffordville without any problem. It’s only about 12 miles away. Well I made it to the sign anyway. I wasn’t about to turn down the gravel road and cover my bike with mud. I didn’t want to clean my bike or ride in mud. I took this picture and called Saffordville done. On to Strong City.
Saffordville done
I don't have a lens for wildlife, but these are two bald eagles. They were tearing apart some kind of carcass when I rode by, then they flew into the tree.
Tree in the fog
I made it to Strong City, stopped in the gas station to use the bathroom and headed towards Cottonwood Falls. I was now pedaling south and into a headwind that was supposed to get stronger as the day progressed. I rode the mile long bicycle path to Cottonwood Falls, saw some geese and rode over the old bridge. I was having a good time. I stopped a little too long calling to the geese and taking pictures of the bridge. I was wet and cold, a bad combination. I needed to start pedaling again to build up some heat.
This cornfield was covered in geese. I tried to yell to get them to fly for a picture but I guess I wasn't annoying enough. I was getting cold and had to go.
Cottonwood Falls bridge; what worried me was the flag was flying and the wind was picking up.
Cottonwood Falls. I love the old hotel in the background. I'll have to check that out someday.
The city of Cottonwood Falls. It looks like a movie set to me and I can't resist taking a picture every time I pass through.
Another history lesson for those that are interested - click on the picture to make it bigger
Here's a history lesson for those that are interested - click on the picture to make it bigger
After passing through Cottonwood Falls I was on the Scenic Byway 177. It is a very scenic route, but it was so foggy, that you couldn’t see far into the hills. I didn’t even take any pictures off the scenic overlook. I would have just shot a picture of gray fog. This part of the ride was when things became a bit harder. Riding into a headwind and being cold can turn anyone’s spirits low. As I was riding my brain was in active mode. I was thinking about my attitude and how I am negative quite a bit. On long rides and really in any endurance event, if one lets negative thoughts invade the mind, it’s over. I began to practice being positive. Not just on the surface like saying, “hey I’m on my bike and not at work, so this is great!” I needed to go deeper. I had some experience with biofeedback in college, basically trying to control the body (heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, etc) to deal with stress. I visualized while I rode. I’ll try to explain.
I was visualizing a bright positive white light within me, coming from deep within my bones where the blood and immune system components are made. This energy from within was activating my stem cells to go to work and create what my body needed and flowed to the surface and out of me cleansing me of negativity. It was the light, the life, the power that God put in me. I know it sounds weird and new agey, but I have used visualization to help me on tests in college and even get rid of a wart. The mind is a powerful thing if we put it to use.
With this visual of a strong body, I also reminded myself that my body is very capable, it’s my mind that I have to get on board. I saw my body as a well oiled machine. Even though it was miserable outside, I saw the beauty in every breath I took. I was basically doing everything I could to be positive from my bones to my brain. I was trying to make the mind-body-spirit connection on my ride. Did it work?
The road into the wind on Scenic Byway 177
I made it. This area had so many gravel roads I wanted to ride, but too muddy.
That just sounds weird to me
Something happened that’s for sure. Even on the way back riding into the wind, I was pushing harder than I have in a long time. I felt great, mentally and physically. Any negative thought was captured and removed before I let it fester in my mind. It was a dreary morning with a strong headwind, and it felt great to be alive. Part of this was because I was on a bike. Bicycles are magical and have the power to let you experience the world first hand in a way that can only be felt while powering yourself on a bike. When I had made it home and completed my ride, I felt incredible, invincible. My adventure Monkey was curled up in a ball, sucking his thumb, asleep with a full belly. Oh don’t get me wrong, there were a few moments of negativity, but working at being positive in this deep way was very empowering. I am going to need this if I am going to complete the DK 200.
Hopefully I will recover well because I will be riding with the High Gear cyclists again this Sunday. That last ride was so good, it was also posted HERE and HERE.
Boots on the fence posts
The Fargo
The road towards Cottonwood Falls
The Fargo taking a break
Check out THIS blog. Why? He talks about the Adventure Monkey that’s why. He’s my 41st real fan. I have 280 fans on the AM FB page, but I can’t get much response from them. All true fans post comments at the bottom of the blog post (hint, hint). That’s how cyber discussions start. Thanks to those that have. I got linked from HERE too! Wow, I am going to have to start practicing my autograph again (used to do that as a kid, like you didn’t). You’d think companies would start giving me free cameras, lenses and bike parts with at least 41 people reading this. That’s quite a market share.
Any finally, (if you are still reading this you ARE a true Adventure Monkey fan) I need something other than Cliff Bars. Putting a Cliff bar into my system is like a chemistry experiment. First I have to ingest it. If I broke off a few teeth, I probably wouldn’t even realize it. Second and more importantly, something in those Cliff bars creates the most foul smelling gas inside of me. If my gas makes ME disgusted, then it’s pretty bad. It’s almost instantaneous. Cliff bar in, gas up. Wow. Then I feel bloated. I need to maintain my energy levels with some kind of nutrition for long rides. What do you use? I need to try something new. I am looking into nuun tabs and hammer gel, but what works for you?
Feed your Monkey! –Eric
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