Early (Weekday!) Bike Ride #2

Finally, after a few rainy and gloomy days, we had a beautiful morning yesterday. My first thought was bike ride time!

Laura, the gal I met at the NY Cycle Club meeting last month, and I had been trying to meet up for a ride for several days but the darn weather kept squashing our plans. We were both psyched to see the forecast for clear skies so we planned to meet at 6am on the west side. I've become much more comfortable riding in the street and, when it's super early, there's really no traffic anyway. It's actually rather peaceful to be on the bike at that time so I enjoyed crossing over from the east side! I did realize that I need lights on my bike, though. I left the apartment around 5:45am and it was still quite dark. Sorry, random side note.

Anyway, we had a terrific ride together and it was really nice to chat and pass the time. We saw another beautiful sunrise and there's just something about it that makes you feel alive. I love that so many people are in the park super early, either running or cycling. There seems to be this commonality there that you feel in a stronger way when it's early in the morning. I think it's just a heightened level of dedication when you get up super early to go do something physical. I saw lots of teams doing what I assume is their marathon training for November and I also watched several large cycling groups whiz by me. I dunno, it sounds weird but the feelings I have on the bike make me appreciate things that I haven't or don't while running.

Laura and I are pretty much at the same level on our bikes, though she's definitely gotten more rides under her belt than me. Regardless, we totally click and I think we share so many of the same feelings about cycling in general. It's so great to have met such a nice girl and to have a new friend to ride with. I absolutely can't wait to finally have a free weekend morning to do a long cycle club ride with her! I already know that I'll meet even more great people sharing the same passion for something I love. I'm excited!