Cycling season is officially upon us and I couldn't be any more excited about it. Last weekend I took my bike off my trainer and even swamped my back tire for my fancy road one. Of course the weather this past weekend was iffy at best for riding. It was about 35 degrees and windy which meant by the time we got back inside my feet were completely white. I'm also getting over a really nasty cold/virus/flu combination of sorts so the ride was pretty miserable. I don't know about you but when you can't breathe through your nose and you are hacking up grossness the ride just doesn't seem as awesome as it should.

But I won't dwell on the past weekend, instead lets discuss the awesome ride that happened last night. I rushed home after work and shoved some peanut butter pretzels down as some preride fuel. I don't even like peanut butter but those pretzels are the best thing ever. Anyways, I quickly got on the road and headed north where I was met with a full force of wind. I rode into the wind for about 8 miles which is way worse that any hill climb unless of course you find a hill with a 8 mile climb and in that case you win that battle. Once I reached the next town, I turned and headed east and made my way to my first climb. Usually I hate climbing, but since the climb was pretty much completely sheltered from the wind I actually enjoyed it. Once I got up the hill I headed through the countryside and it so great. The weather was perfect and then sun was out. It's a good thing I didn't pass too many cars along the way because I had a smile plastered one my face as I rode along.

As I headed to the next Strava climb I ended up making a wrong turn so I thought I would just pull over and turn around. The road was pretty pitched to both sides and so as I slowed down I unclipped my left foot and leaned to my right side. Notice I did not unclip my right foot or lean to the left since my left foot was free. Nope, I just awkwardly fell over onto the ground. I was barely moving at the time so it was pretty hilarious. I quickly got up and looked around to see if I had any witnesses to my awesomeness. Thankfully no one was in sight.

It's weird blogging about biking again. I guess I could have blogged about it all through winter but trainer rides don't really seem all that exciting. For the most part I would just ride at a pretty hard effort for my rides and would bike away watching the Tour De France (2001 and 2005 races). According to my workout log I put about 1,100 miles on my trainer and spent over 65 hours on my bike this winter. Frayed Laces posted Trainer Tuesdays with great trainer workout ideas which helped curve my boredom. Since it was my first trainer winter I have nothing to compare it to so it seems like an acceptable amount. I guess that fact that I'm out riding as strong/if not stronger than I was last fall seems like a bonus and a real exciting benefit of trainer sessions.

As I look over the combined race calenders between me and the boy it's looking as though spring through the end of July will be filled with weekends at various races. Actually the madness starts this Sunday with Erik's first Hike-A-Bike. I'll be spectating his mountain bike races so I'm prepared with a Kindle full of books and a chair. While mountain bike races aren't the most awesome events to spectate since you can't really see very much of the race it still seems wise to tag along in case something doesn't go as planed. After Erik's last race where he finished with a concussion I definitely feel better at least being there just in case.

My first race is a week from Sunday and it's a circuit style race, 1.6 mile loop course, that I'll race around 13 times. Since I spent the majority of weeknights last summer riding circles around my parents neighborhood I feel confident that I can keep myself amused enough for 20+ miles. Plus, there should be plenty of people on the course to try and keep up with which should prove to be interesting. Here's to hoping though that I remember to unclip correctly!

[If you're on Strava we should totally be friends...if you are not on Strava you should totally join and once again we should totally be friends! All you need is a Smartphone or GPS device. I swear I do not work for nor am I affiliated with Strava in any way...I just really like it]