July has been so busy there hasn’t been a free minute to post, but there is always time to ride. The most notable ride since the last post was the bike course of the Mass State Sprint triathlon where my bike split was 24th overall out of a field of about 270. I attribute this to the course’s elevation profile. With more than 50% of the course’s length laid out over uphill grades, speeds were limited, reducing the penalty I normally experience for lacking race bike aerodynamics. Cranking my scratched up commuter rig up hills past time trial bikes is satisfying even if I know they will blow by me as soon as I’m spun out it top gear on the descent.
I’m finishing out July with a trip to Michigan with my bike. Yesterday provided a relaxing first ride from a Y camp in Montigue to dinner at a pizzeria in Fremont. The scene here is a different kind of rural that is typical of midwestern farmland. Straight roads travel over gently rolling terrain with vast views of corn and hay fields at every rise. It appears hay is done here, as every field is low and speckled with identical perfectly rolled bales. Corn, on the other hand, is still approaching peak, showing high fields of countless parallel stalks. Interspersed Amish community completes this textbook display of Americana. I particularly enjoyed spinning back to camp on a full stomach of “Spanky’s Famous Breadstix” as I am wont to be absorbed into a summer night’s ride on a quiet road. Next up: investigate local trail development.