Cycle Training 2020 #25
Week beginning June 14th, 2020
Friday off
I try to cycle everyday and I have set an arbitrary goal of 50 miles to complete each week. If I don’t register a little red bar on every day of the week in the Map my Ride graphic I get quite upset.
However I have been watching a bunch of cycling videos on YouTube lately, videos made by the Global Cycle Network, one of which explained to me that taking a day off is no bad thing.
I still managed to reach my goal 🙂
Thursday Evening
Steaming crab is a talent that young Andrew seems to have mastered although his ability to read maps or understand compass bearings is not so well honed as was demonstrated yesterday when he ended up in Kerrville by mistake!
After a day of thunderstorms and staring at computer screens I did not think I’d be able to get out on the bike tonight. However the evening weather proved conducive to cycling, even with quite a high SE wind.
Wednesday with minimal cycling
Yard work is the order of the day
To exercise, perchance to work – ay, there’s the rub. (To paraphrase The Bard and, to be clear, without any suicidal intent). The yard is jungle territory so I forfeit my evening cycle ride (exercise) in favor of mowing the yard (work).
This should be just as beneficial health wise but also has the added bonus of making Patty happy especially as I eradicated the vine she so despises because it damages the trees.
Front Yard 
In Between 
Back Yard 
Tuesday tall tale
The best laid plans o’ mice an’ men …
Yesterday Andrew should have cut the grass in the front and back yards. He said he’d do it when he came back from Academy in Corpus Christi but he ended up going to The Bass Pro Shop in San Antonio. Then he took a wrong turn coming home and didn’t turn around until Kerrville – so no grass cutting at 3 a.m!
Tuesday Golf Balls
Playlist: Echo in the Canyon (Jakob Dylan)
Reliving the Sixties whilst cycling.
On my Tuesday evening cycle as I rode across the bridge over Tule Creek I observed a man standing on the grass beside a large collection of golf balls. He was hitting them, one by one, along side the creek.
On the return leg of my journey, crossing the bridge over Tule Creek again, I met the golfing guy and asked him if he lost any balls in the creek. “Every day I come here I lose at least 6” he said. He was carrying his golf club – but no balls!
Monday Country Club
Making bread without kneading
Meanwhile, as I cycled around the streets of Rockport, Patty experimented with Jim Lahey’s – of Sullivan Street Bakery “no knead” bread recipe.
Turned out quite well although we need (no pun intended) to figure out how to extract the loaf from the Dutch oven more efficiently.
Sunday Sunset Ride
Ending with a few circuits of First Baptist Church parking lot
Why? As I start week #25
This is what it’s all about, COVID-19 permitting.
In 2017 I had intended to enter the Conquer the Coast cycling event but it was cancelled due to Hurricane Harvey.
In 2018 there had been so much bad weather that the largely coastal 66 mile event was cancelled due to flooding on the route.
In 2019 I was finally able to realize my ambition to cycle over the Harbor Bridge. Maybe I’ll manage to do so again in 2020.
It’s an all day deal; you need to average at least 10 mph to stay in the event so I was very lucky that Cousin Ray volunteered to accompany me on this venture. He stayed with me throughout the day and I’m pretty sure I would not have made it without his encouragement.
Cycle Training 2020 #24
Week beginning June 7th, 2020
