This past Sunday, Dad and I rode in the Staten Island Bicycling Association's Pumpkin Patch Pedal. It started only 15 miles from Princeton, NJ, which was super convenient for me. Dad came up on Saturday so we wouldn't have far to go on Sunday morning. Dad also rode in a century with Lauren last weekend.
It was only my second real ride since I moved to Princeton, the first being only 16 miles. I do ride to and from campus a couple times everyday, giving me a grand total of something like 10 miles a week. But I found a new outlet--spinning class. I've been going to spinning pretty much every weekday since classes started. I'm addicted. It's not quite the same as bicycling outside, but it's an amazing workout in only 45 minutes, and I think it keeps me in good biking shape. I don't feel like I can get the same kind of workout outside on my bike in the same amount of time. Maybe I'm just not driven enough without an instructor yelling at me :-)
It's not very hilly here in New Jersey, but I guess it rolls enough to keep things sort of interesting. Maybe I just need to look harder for some hills. It's funny to hear students complain about the hills on campus. I probably would've been complaining too about this time last year, but everything pales in comparison to the Ozarks and Appalachians.
The century ride was pretty, and aptly named--we passed a ton of pumpkin patches. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and the terrain was also really pleasant. The food was amazing. Breakfast and the first two rest stops had pumpkin bread, banana bread, really good bagels and fixins, bananas, gatorade, candy bars--everything a hungry cyclist could ask for. The last rest stop even had pumpkin and apple pie! That definitely hit the spot. The people running the last rest stop also dressed up in halloween costumes, and it was a lot of fun. We also got a pretty cool shirt and water bottle out of the deal.
I didn't hurt too badly afterwards. I actually started out with mild shin splints and a sore knee, but it was from running around campus in my horrible old tennis shoes (which should now go in the trash) on Saturday during "The Game," a crazy seven-hour-long puzzle-solving scavenger-hunt for grad students. I was a little concerned going into the ride, but it was no big deal. It went by so quickly. I guess time flies when you're having fun. But was I ever exhausted afterwards! I could hardly keep my eyes open. I napped on and off between doing laundry on Sunday night, had a full night's sleep, napped 4 hours after class on Monday, and was still exhausted! I finally feel back to normal today. I skipped spinning on Monday, but I went back today and felt fine.
I can't say enough how much I miss the summer. I hope you enjoyed the journal so far... 22 days down, 51 left to write about :-) I was also planning on posting a FAQs section, but one step at a time...
My bike and the Staten Island Bicycling Association sign
Me and dad at the 84 mi rest stop
Amazing feed station with pie
Crazy pirate biker who also took the picture of us
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