I had a great time yesterday in Granbury with my home boys. There was no rally, so we met in Randy's hometown to do a training ride. Phil and Rusty (a medical doctor) joined us. It was cloudy as I drove to Granbury (50 miles from my house in Fort Worth), but the sun came out just as I arrived. I love sunshine. The route Randy chose was spectacular. One stretch of road in particular stood out. It was as beautiful as any stretch of road I've seen in any rally. There were rolling hills, pastures filled with cows, ramshackle farm buildings, and many beautiful trees. It was perfectly quiet except for the sweet sound of birds chirping and wind rustling through the leaves of the trees. It's only early spring, but the countryside is blooming. I told Phil that if there's a heaven, this is what it's like.
Our aim was to put in miles, not go fast. I averaged only 15.14 miles per hour for the 50.7 miles we rode. My maximum speed was 38.3 miles per hour. I got my heart rate up to 155 on a steep hill, but my average heart rate for the ride was only 106. That shows that I didn't work very hard. I've seen it as high as 132. Anything less than 120 means I didn't exert. I did, however, burn 1,494 calories, which allowed me to indulge myself at Grump's restaurant afterward. Have I ever told you that I love to eat? That's one reason (of many) that I live an athletic life. The more calories you burn while exerting, the more you get to eat. I weighed 154 pounds Friday morning. I stay between 154 and 156, year around. Some people gain weight in the winter. Not me.
An interesting thing happened on the drive to Granbury. I was on Interstate 20, driving in the second lane from the right of five lanes. I noticed a car on my bumper. There was no reason for it, since traffic was light. The driver could easily have gone around me on either side. Finally, I tired of this, so I took my foot off the accelerator. My speed decreased from 60 to 55 to 50 to 45 to 40. The car slowed down with me! This was downright spooky. But then the driver switched lanes. I went immediately to 70 miles per hour and never saw the car again. What do you think was going on? Maybe the driver was playing with my mind.
