A Training Ride

50 days left!!

So, I suppose that I'm not the best at posting regularly... I let it get away from me. Part of the problem is that I'm not totally sure what to post; I'll get over that once we start on our ride.

I went on a forty mile ride today with my dad (a bit longer than we usually go). The weather was not promising as we began, with big black clouds massing above us. Less than a mile into the ride, rain started to fall, then hail. Looking down, I noticed snow starting to stick to my gloves and tights. Within a few minutes, though, the sky had cleared, and a warm breeze (albiet a head wind) dried off our gear. The weather remained dry for the rest of our ride, fluctuating from warm to cold just enough that I was continually unzipping and re-zipping my jacket.

Later on, as we rode by a house, a white Saint Bernard ran out after us. My dad sprayed it with water and shouted at it to go home, but the dog just bounded along next to use, panting.
"Seth, stop riding!" my dad finally yelled, and I pulled to the side of the road, hoping the dog would leave us alone. Instead, it ran up to me, than placed a big paw on my leg.
"Ohhh, hi there." I cooed, and reached out to pet the dog.
"Don't pet it, Seth." My dad called, and I backed away, shouting "Go home!" The dog followed us for a couple hundred yards, before giving up and trotting back along the road. "I just didn't want you to encourage it." my dad explained later, "I've had at least two dogs try to follow me and get hit by cars."

In the last few miles of our ride, we ran into another cyclist going up a hill near our house. My dad and I passed her going up, but she caught us again as we went down the other side. My dad tried to start a conversation, but we were almost home, so it didn't last long.

Now I'm recooperating from the 40 mile ride by sitting in front of a computer screen and writing about it. This is my first feeble attempt at a narrative on my "travels"... any suggestions on how to improve my writing would be great.

Thanks For Reading,
Seth

P.S. The picture above is of my cousin, Nathan (for whom I'm using this trip to raise awarness and money for the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) and I. To learn more, read my first post getting started or visit my website at http://www.firstgiving.com/cycling4allergies .