Riding With MoC

I rode in Central Park again this morning. The forecast for today is 70 degrees but when I rode it was about 47 degrees. I did five hill-repeats in the northern tip of the park and then a six mile loop. I had intended to do much more (another 45 minutes) but when I could no longer feel my toes or the tips of my fingers, I called it a day.

I know I wimped out but there is no sense in being miserable when I still have more than six months until the ride.

I started my outdoor training today with a couple of laps of Central Park. I davened very early and picked up my sister. Unfortunately, when I got to her house, we discovered a flat tire. Rather than take the time to fix it, I picked up my old bike for my sister to use.

There were about 1000 women running a marathon in the park and that put a damper on an otherwise spectacular morning. Because of the huge crowds, it was difficult to manuever. We decided to ditch after two laps (12 miles) rather than the intended three. My sister is going to kick butt in Israel. She is fierce. You wouldn't know she is a 55 year old grandmother.

All in all, a nice start to the season.

I will be signing up for the 2005 Alyn Hospital Wheels of Love Bike Tour when registration opens tomorrow. The tour starts in the Golan Heights on November 6th and ends in Jerusalem on November 10th. Most of the tour will be in the Golan/Galil area.

They haven't come out with the exact route or overall mileage yet but have indicated that there will be some very brutal climbs this year, even more difficult than last year. They are also planning to have an easier course, presumably for those who don't want to do the nasty climbs. As far as I'm concerned, there can't be enough nasty climbs.

The weather this winter has been miserable and it hasn't gotten better in the last few weeks. I have not been on my bike in months. I've been doing some spinning but I am in miserable shape compared to last year. Luckily, there are still seven months to go.

I signed up for the Montauk Century (100 mile) ride that takes place on May 15th. I'm concerned that I've bitten off more than I can chew so early in the season. They also have a 65 mile option and I probably should have considered that. That would have been the sane thing to do but who says I'm sane? I just hope it stops raining every weekend so that I can get some miles under my belt before the ride. (And, I just remembered, two of the Sundays before the ride fall on Pesach!).

Whatever. I will show up and do the best I can and try to have some fun. That's the whole point.