Good day today

Since I did not ride yesterday (lots of Habitat stuff going on), I decided to do a longer ride today. I chose to do some flat riding, plus some fairly minor hills. I drove to Allen northwest of home, and began there. I rode to Edison, and then out to Samish Island, and back to the car. Most of the ride was flat, with hills on Samish Island. I could not do all the hills--or at least, I chose not to do them--but I did make it around the approximately 22-mile route. I felt better on my 'bent ( I think that is bike speak for a recumbent) and felt more stable. On the return leg, I chose a definite point I could find on a map and timed myself to see about how fast I was riding. That section was about six miles, and I did it in 34 minutes, which should be a little more than 10 MPH. I was using the upper range of the gears, so I feel pretty good about the ride.

When I got home and cooled off, I took Max for a short ride in the neighborhood to get him acclimated to more time in the trailer. We did about 2 miles, and he did fine--barked at other dogs so I think he is comfortable. The ride included two short but steep hills in the neighborhood, and I managed to do both of them with the trailer attached. So far I'm using my mountain bike to tow the trailer, and will switch over to the 'bent later this month.

Tomorrow I plan to take the recumbent back to Angle Lake Cyclery to get a different set of handlebars--ones with a wider gap between handles so my legs don't rub my hands when I'm pedaling. I'll also check on bike shoes and clip pedals, since I feel like my feet are slowing slipping off the pedals when I ride. It puts more strain on my legs and my softer shoes make my feet tingle after riding a while. Hopefully, stiffer soles and clips will make it easier.