I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve taken an entire week off from work all at once, not to mention anything longer than that. But I had vacation time that needed using (so that I didn’t lose it at the end of the fiscal year), so I took not just a week off, but eight days. It’s definitely the longest I’ve been off work since I left school.
Powering up an alley during the Powderhorn 24 (photo by Meredith Westin)
Originally, I’d thought I’d get a lot of things done around the homestead, but I quickly realized that what I really wanted to do was just ride, relax, and ride some more. So that’s what I did.
I’d originally thought I’d blog as I went along, but it turned out that I needed a break from that as well. So be it.
The riding days basically went like this:
- Wake up, drink coffee, eat breakfast
- Ride for 3-6 hours
- Shower
- Eat lunch, drink a beer or two
- Relax on the couch with a movie or a book
- Spend the evening with my wife
In other words, a perfect way to spend one’s time. I did that for more than half of the days I was off. I’d had some larger plans for the entire time, like riding each of the bikes I own, getting more wrenching done, and riding more off-road, but some very high heat and a nasty summer cold kept things a little more reasonable.
Between the Powderhorn 24, five road rides, and several bouts of knocking around town, I racked up more than 350 miles while I was off work.
Not a huge amount in the greater scheme of things, but not bad given the year that I’ve been having so far.
Hey, so have you just given up on GreenlightRide?
Not completely, but I’ve also not been all that consistent. I probably should decide one way or the other.
And given my recent comments on the GPS effect, you can probably guess which way I’m leaning.
There is, I’ve found of late, a perverse pleasure in a nice long solo ride, but one that I didn’t track at all and can’t even prove existed.