Here in the Sacramento Region, May is Bike Month (though for me every month is bike month). where riders of all different styles and riding ability pledge to ride their bikes. Whether it be to work, for errands or simply to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather that Sacramento has to offer this time of year. Last year I was just beginning to ride and decided to pledge 200 miles. I did the math and commuting back and forth to work each day it worked to be 50 miles a week, for four weeks.

Not the brightest of ideas, I know, but thats how I roll. I get a wild hair up my ass and see a challenge, no matter the impact to my body, it must be completed. Luckily my brain can still over rule my body. I completed all 200 miles and averaged speed was 14 mph and it would take me about 21-23 minutes to complete the 5.1 miles from work to home. The last week however was torturous. I more or less had dead legs for the week and didnt touch my bike for 3 days afterwards. Mission Accomplished. So much so in fact, I decided that my bike was now my new method of transportation.

This year I pledged the same 200 miles, but with lower elapsed times. I mean I ride 55-70 miles a week so I wanted to see what, if any, improvement there was. I wanted to average 15 mph and with sub 20 minute jaunts from home to work. I wound up riding 218 miles with an average speed of 16.6 MPH and on average it now only takes me about 17 -19 minutes to get home. While I didnt extend the mileage (too much), I lost 40 pounds and 5 inches off my waist. If anyone finds it, there is no reason to return it. Anyhoo…I guess the challenge was successfully completed.  Deadlegs are a thing of the past and was actually bummed I wasnt able to get out on Sunday or Saturday to get the mileage closer to 250. The last ride for the month however, was by far the most rewarding and made me the most proud, but…it had nothing to do with me.

I have working with the boys on their bikes, getting their legs stretched, controlling their bikes, understanding how to ride on a trail, etc. Last September, neither could really ride their bikes even with training wheels. I mean, they could get on them and make it move, but the bike rode them. As long as the ride was straight, flat and had zero obstacles they could ride for a few miles. Hoooo…booooyyy….how far they have come…

Deb said something about waxing something or manicure somthing, I dunno, all I heard was Folsom…wha…wha…waxing…wha…boring…wha wha…lunch. So I said sure, Ill meet you at Karins for lunch in Old Town Folsom. The boys and I will be there in about an hour. We got ready, hopped onto our bikes and we went for a big boy bike ride. Karins Bakery is about 6 miles from our house if you take the river trail. The trail is popular (especially on the weekends and more so now that the weather has decided to stop raining) and busy. The trail is not all flat, it has some hills and some rather high ones. Well not like Vancouver high or anything, but enough to let you know that you are no longer in Kansas, but when you are 5 and 7 I bet some of those hills compare favorably to Vancouver.

Distance ridden: 5 miles

Time: 38 minutes

http://rnkpr.com/a6798u

Not exactly setting land speed records, here, but this was big boy riding. Since the last half mile consists of an 100 foot elevation gain, I decided to opt them out. Could they have done it, yeah, but Deb was done with her girlie stuff so I decided to cut them a break.

I regret not taking pictures to document the occasion, but I was a bit busy reiterating trail etiquette as they rode on, but believe you me, the grins on their face and the sense of accomplishment they felt when they realized how far they rode was more than any picture could tell.  They more than earned their PBJ sandwhiches and chocolate milk for  lunch on this day.