Weekend Ride to Mt Horeb
Before I could go on my bike ride, I needed to get a new lock. I lost my old lock more than a month ago and I never bothered to buy a new one till today. I don’t usually park my road bike places that warrant the use of a lock. Keep in mind that I live in a pretty safe area of the country and even though bike theft exists, it’s not widespread. I’m usually okay leaving my road bike unlocked outside a gas station if I know I’m only going inside for a short minute.
Today was different. I wanted to take some time in Mt. Horeb and have lunch, thus the need for a bike lock. Before I go into too much detail about my new lock and how the ride went, let me talk about my breakfast.
Prior to a bike ride, I usually need to eat a mix of protein and carbs. If I don’t have my carbs, I get too hungry, and if I don’t eat some protein, I feel too tired. I got some greens from the garden, cracked a couple eggs open on the pan, and toasted some bread. Behold…. breakfast.
After I was done with breakfast and finished drinking my coffee, I hopped on my city bike to go look for a new bike lock. As soon as I left the house, around 9:30am, I noticed it was getting hot outside and thought to myself: “I better get to the bike shop fast; so I can get on my way before it’s too hot outside”. Riding fast served as a nice pre-ride warm-up, but with the humidity in the 75% range and temperatures already nearing 80F (26C), it also meant I arrive at the bike shop sweating profusely. I picked the lock I wanted, checked out, and as I leaned over to the counter to sign the credit card slip, quite a few drops of sweat from my forehead dripped over the register area. Oh well. “I gotta get home and start my ride before it’s too hot!” – thought to myself again. If you are wondering how to carry a lock when you are riding a road bike and you don’t want to put it in your shirt pockets, here’s an idea.
By the time I got home it was already past 10:30am. The sun was even higher in the sky and I was even more drenched in sweat than when I had arrived at the LBS. I got into my biking clothes, filled up my water bottles, making sure to pack them with ice (you can see my Polar water bottles in the picture above also), and applied a coat of sunscreen onto my skin. As you might already know, sunscreen and sweat don’t mix very well, so it looked like I applied some sort of liquid white paint to my arms and legs. As usual, it took me way too long to get out of the house and by the time I set off on my ride, it was already 11:30am.
Mt Horeb is a quaint town situated about 30km (19M) outside of Madison. It’s known for trolls and a single brewery conveniently named Grumpy Troll. I’m not really into trolls but I’m definitely into beers, so this seemed like a fitting destination.
Before getting to Mt. Horeb and enjoying brews prepared by supernatural beings from Scandinavian folklore, I had to withstand the heat.
The first 20km (12M) were pretty brutal with no shelter from the sun.
On the flipside, the last 10km (6M) before reaching my destination were a bit shaded and much more pleasant.
The Reward
This well deserved reward came midway through my ride. I ordered a pint of beer at the Grumpy Troll before Mrs. Trouble joined me for lunch. I settled for a porter thinking it would feel nice after riding for 33km (20M) in the sun in almost unbearable humidity levels. I have to say that at this point, adding to the fact that I had eaten breakfast some 5 hours earlier and had not consumed anything but water since, any cold beer would have felt like the best beer in the world. Sure enough, the Ol’ Eagle’s Summer Porter felt like the best beer in the world.
Mrs. Trouble arrived just a few minutes after I got my beer, so we ordered some food. Again, any food at this point would have taste like the best food in the world. This brat with German mustard garnished with waffle fries surely hit the spot.
After I was done with my last waffle fry, I headed back home; another 33km in the sun.
