Thankful Day 11/Passionately Propelling Professor Fourteen Minute Challenge

Looking out the window in the early morning to see FROST

Today I am thankful for P's Not Your Average Adventure Virtual Race. This is my first race in 3 months.  When P posted about this race she said that injured athletes  could do anything in this race! When I first read this I was unbelievably excited.  Well......the problem is I didn't do anything about this excitement and before I knew it it was almost time to be done.  I had thought I would race my bike to work but since the disastrous ride I had not ridden my bike. It has been cold.  It has been dark.  I have worked longer than usual hours.  I was ready to bail.  Okay, AJH, enough with the excuses, you were excited to have the opportunity to race so do it.  So last night I got my bike stuff ready including my new light as it is getting quite dark around here!  The weather prediction was a good one.

Do I look like I think I am nuts!

So this morning I got up, I'm doing my stretches, I glance out the window once it starts to get light and there is FROST everywhere.  The weather is supposed to be in the 40s.  Oh yeah, that is the high in the middle of the day.  It was presently in the low 20s. Do I still do this?  I also felt mildly sick like I was coming down with a cold.  Well, once I make my mind up I do like to carry through so I continued with my original plan of the Passionately Propelling Professor Fourteen Minute Challenge.  (Sorry P I couldn't get all Ps in the title but I do believe Fourteen counts and I have a 66% P titled race going on here.)

At least I didn't have to scrape the frost off my windshield

This was a very short race.  3.9 miles to be exact.  I have never raced a bike before but I have found that I try to race my bike to work.  It is mostly downhill and I didn't want the ride to be too easy so I have put a decent amount of effort into it since I started.  I would glance at my watch when I got to work and it always said 15:something! So I wanted to break the 15 minute barrier. So the Passionately Propelling Professor Fourteen Minute Challenge was born. I have been doing some training for this race!

Ready to go - maybe.

I get outside and it is very frosty and very cold.  I do stop to take some pictures before I begin. Once I start down the driveway I find myself going "slow" because of the frost. This does not bode well for my 14 minute goal.  I turn onto the road and realize that it is not a little cold, it is very cold.  I find myself going "slow" because of the cold. This does not bode well for my 14 minute goal. As I head along the road next to the river I still find myself going "slow" because of the cold. This does not bode well for my 14 minute goal. Can I tell you my fingers were beyond cold?  I knew they would be cold for about 15 minutes only so I thought I could bare it. As I continued I was not so sure.  I found myself slowing down and didn't think I..........had...........a...............chance....................of ....................reaching............the 14 minute goal.  When I came to the first of two hills I thought, "Yeah, now I will really slow down!!"  Are these the usual thoughts of someone in a race?  Soon I was turning up my second hill, again DELIGHTED to be slowing down!  But then.... (cue music from Chariots of Fire)... I glanced at my watch. It was at 12 minutes. Could I do it?  I could see my school in the distance and started picking up speed in spite of the cold!  As I got closer I looked again.  It was in the low 13s.  This was looking good.  As I approach the school I have to slow down to cross "traffic" and ride up the ramp. This is where I always stop so today could be no different.  I raced up the ramp - oblivious of the cold - reached the top of the ramp and hopped off my bike.  I looked down at my watch to turn it off - the time - 14:44!  (no pics - my fingers could not have operated a camera).  Yeah Yeah Yeah!  I really didn't think I would do it today with the low temps but thanks to the inspiration of P and the  Passionately Propelling Professor Fourteen Minute Challenge I have broken 15 minutes! A successful race by AJH!

The bike having a well earned rest in the Professor's Classroom

I did ride my bike home tonight and then some which is when I got to use my new light.  I have to tell you I can't count how many people have honestly said to me with sincerity........"Do you ride your bike home too?"  What do they think I do? I think this is because they know where I live and know going home is "up" but the question is certainly a silly one!

Back at home!  The bike is put away with the tractors!  I don't 

know when I will ride again.