Oh wait, it's not the helmet doing that, it's all of the new brain cells I've been growing since starting this biking adventure. I've been listening to a book on CD that is all about brain health and things that help your gray matter improve. One of the best things you can do for your brain, according to the author, is exercise. This makes new brain cells grow! And heaven only knows how many were burned up during my college career so there is probably room to squeeze in a few hundred thousand new ones. This gift of growing new brain cells will be added to the list of benefits to remember when the biking gets tough.
My short rides were done in the early morning hours this week on Monday and today (Thursday). Both rides were 20.5 miles. Monday's ride took me west, deeper into the 'burbs and seemed to take a long time to accomplish, although it was about two hours, just like the ride today, which took me east to the city and seemed to go by quickly. Go figure. As challenging as it is to get up before the sun, there are some perks to hitting the trails at that time of day. Trail traffic is certainly less than later in the day, and the light in the wee hours of the morning is quite nice. There are many locations I noted on Monday that would be great spots in which to photograph. Of course, I had no camera or willing model with me but now I know of their existence, which is the first step.
With dewpoints up into the tropical range today, I decided to do a short ride in the morning instead of a long one on the Sakatah Trail this afternoon. (I get dehydrated just thinking about it). Things as sweet as me melt in heat like this, and there is no fabric on earth that can wick all of the sweat away. Although, maybe I could fashion a biking outfit out of chamois towels that includes a cowl to wick away the sweat that is dripping in my eyes. Chamois towels can't be any less comfortable than polyester to wear, can they?
My dear daddio shared an article with me this week that he found about the crushing of the family jewels on bike seats: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/science/28tier.html?_r=1&emc=eta1. It's good to know I'm not the only one that can't seem to levitate on her sit bones while riding. There will be some further investigation into acquiring a seat that doesn't have the horn or nose on it. This may get me out of having to spend any moola on a pair of padded lycra riding pants and make riding long distances, especially on bumpy trails, more comfortable.
See, I'm smarter already.
