My off days this week were Tuesday and Wednesday. Originally, I thought it was a bunch of crap not to get at least one weekend day off, but I was excited to get two whole days in a row off. That is a rarity. Then mother nature decided that my two off days were going to be the last nice days we are going to see for quite some time.

I took advantage of the situation and rode 110 miles on Tuesday in about six hours. I rode over to Illinois and took Fruit Road to the old Apple Pie road course. It was nostalgic to ride those roads again. The last time I rode there was with Bobby Van Daley, chasing Jack Daugherty on his motor scooter. I think it was 2007. I have never felt better on a long ride. Originally, I had planned to ride 80 or 90 miles, but things were going so well I tacked on twenty or thirty miles. I was somewhat disappointed that I only averaged 17 mph over my last 30 miles, but you can only do so much on a six hour ride.

The next day, I decided to take my mountain bike out to Greensfelder for several hours of riding. I ended up riding three hours and thirty miles in several laps of the park. My plan was to improve my skills, update my muscle memory, but most importantly, break in some new gear that I plan on using, on the Ozark trail in the next several months. Because...let's face it...it's mountain biking season. I'm primed and ready for a five or six hour mountain bike ride on the OT.