I hate hills.

Got back from my graduation present trip to Las Vegas, picked up my bike from the bike shop and jumped right back in to riding with a 40ish mile ride with my dad.  It was my favorite kind of ride, a long tough 20 miles out with a strong head-wind that you know will be at your back as soon as you hit the turn around point.  We went to a trail that I hadn't been to in years, with a killer hill section infamous for causing my baby sister to go out of control and crash into a tree. This confirmed for me that I am without a doubt a plains rider, and if I run into any bears in the mountains out west it better be on the way down.

Check in ride

I did my check in ride yesterday and I just wanted to share a little bit about my ride. 88 degrees and sunny, way too hot for an Illinois May! All was going well until I turned North and hit some 22 mile an hour winds and realized I wasn't as fast as I thought I was. I rode around pretty aimlessly through the wind farm outside of Bloomington for a few hours, trying to pass as many of the windmills I could then figuring out how to get back. Highlights include stopping and having some honeysuckle while hanging out with cows and running over an (already) dead snake.  I got some awesome cut-off tan lines and scuffed up my white shoes so they don't look quite so new. This definitely pumped me up for the long days through some states with better scenery than 50 solid miles of cows and soy.