Bikin The Railroad

Saturday night I had a brilliant idea..
Why not get on the bike, and see how far I can go? I've been dormant all winter, and my behind is suffering from some major secretarial spread, and I'm completely out of shape. Let's see just how much..

So the next morning, off I went..

My goal -To go from my house in West Gardiner to Panera Bread in Augusta. One way 16.48 miles ( at least that's what MapQuest says).
I left at noon, headed down through Gardiner to pick up the Kennebec Rail Trail. The trail goes all the way to downtown Augusta. Not bad.. mostly downhill. But you know what that means on the way home, don't you....

Now to make matters worse, my MP3 player was on the fritz, so no music while I pedalled.
Along the way, I took some time to gaze out at the river, and the many little waterfalls that dotted the woodsy areas along the trail.

Once I got into Augusta, I cut across by Cumby's , because I was NOT, I repeat NOT doing the St. Augustine hill. Down, maybe. Up FORGET IT.
So this means I'm travelling on the very busy Civic Center Drive.. yikes.. No near misses, however I found it difficult because the breakdown lane was miniscule to say the least.
At any rate, I reached Panera and hour and a half later. Took a few minutes to rest, drink some water, and call Dave to let him know I made it. Now.. time to go home.
Every downhill I enjoyed on the way there was met with a major UPHILL on the way home.
By the time I reached Hallowell, I was feeling the burn. But I pushed onward.
To add to all of this, the sun was beating down upon me, and I was getting quite a sunburn.
Yes, we fair-skinned nordic girls get burned easily.
At any rate, I made it to the New Mills stores with enough anergy.. bouth a Gatorade, and the Sunday paper. From there, it was two more hills, and I was home.

From reading all of this, you would think that I hated my ride. Just the opposite.. I loved every minute of it!!! I love pushing myself as hard as I can...I love feeling the burn, the exhaustion, and then pushing past it. Hmm.. I'm probably sadistic that way, but I always do.

I rewarded myself with a hot shower, a tasty salad, and several episodes of Law and Order.

Made for a wonderful Sunday...