Wednesday, May 23, 2007

On the Road Again






Yesterday afternoon I went on my first, and very long overdue, road ride of the season with my roommate, Karen. We did a Paoli loop, which is the most well-known bike route for local riders. It’s about a thirty-mile round-trip from Madison that features rolling hills, open country roads, and luscious fields and scenery. The half-way point is the charming, Sugar River town called Paoli, which is ten-miles southwest of Madison. The small town of Paoli is home to several unique shops and galleries, the Creamery CafĂ©, Paoli Cheese Cottage, the historic Paoli Mill, and of course, the Paoli Pub–the town’s finest tavern.

It was so great to be out on the open roads again. I felt free riding with the wind in aero down some of the steeper descents. Yesterday reminded me of one of the big reasons I chose to move back to Madison two years ago–you simply cannot beat the road riding found just a few short miles outside of Madison. Yesterday as I rode, I seriously found myself singing in my head, “The hills are alive with the sound of music…la, la, la, la.” Now don’t get me wrong, I certainly felt out-of-bike-shape and slow on those climbs, but it was just refreshing to be out there. So I guess I’ve officially begun Ironman training, or something like that. Now I just need to find my way to a pool…

1 comment:

christie said...

I don’t know Krit, but I think that I might be able to beat the scenery when it comes to long rolling beautiful bike rides. The Pacific Northwest sure has a lot of rides that take your breath away, yes probably because of some of the hills and early season for me. There is just something about going from tree-lined hills to long coastlines, and a ferry rides to get there.