July 11, 2011 (Day 4)

More internet research led me to conclude some of my problem is that I have no water with me.  It was even suggested that it might help my windedness.  I also picked up some fingerless gloves for good measure.  With sweat-covered cotton T-shirts after every ride, I decided to reward myself if I made it as far as the nearest Super Wal-Mart (about two miles away) by buying one of the Schwinn cycling jerseys as my research suggested that they would wick the sweat away better.  Last night in the car, we drove the length of ours and the two other subdivisions for the path with the least highway cycling as possible, so that’s the way I went with all my new paraphernalia as well as a backpack strapped to my back as I left the house at 6:05 am with until 7 am before my wife had to head to work for me to get back.

It’s true that you observe your surroundings more going slower than in a car, and one of the things I observed on the way through the neighborhood was a young fox that must be making his home somewhere nearby as he trotted on the sidewalk, not even glancing at me as I passed.

There’s a short distance that requires a multi-purpose path, which isn’t too bad, but the bad part is that the path abruptly ends at railroad gravel then up an embankment to the train tracks and a highway.  I stopped at the end of the sidewalk and drank the water (man that felt good!).  Taking a deep breath and resigning myself to the task, I led the bike up the embankment to the highway.  After a false start where I almost dropped the darn thing, I walked the bike to the other side of the highway so I was on the right shoulder and going with traffic on the way to Wal-Mart. 

Once there, my heart pounding with excitement, I locked my bike up at the racks, ignored my awareness of my skintight shorts, and headed in.  In there, I picked up my reward.  The cashier looked me up and down (I still had my helmet on, too) and asked if I’d come far.  “Just a couple miles—I just got started,” I admitted.  With my purchase quickly stowed, I headed home.  It was a bit of a task, and my legs were throbbing.  At the down path, though, I panicked at the sight of all the gravel by the railroads, so I ended up staying on the highway for fear of sliding on the loose rocks.  I was able to get into the subdivision soon enough, though.