Finally!

Finally! The temperature was where FWK (interesting acronym, isn't it?) decided it was warm enough to get his butt on back on a bike. First time for 2008. Usually we get a teaser day in January or February to get out, but not this year.

It was the original 3 Amigos, Matt, Bob, and myself. You can see that Matt is pumped! If you look close, he has brand new Bontrager carbon rims on his Orca. I think the bike, with Matt on it, weighs about 112 lbs. It was the first road ride for all 3 of us.

This is my view when I ride with Matt and Bob. They weren't this close to me, but thanks to zoom, it appears that way! Bob is wearing his "E Street Band" black kit.
We're tooling up the hill past Lake Independence, and we spot another rider up ahead. Looks like Loon colors. It is, with a pony tail! A rare breed, the female Loon. Sure enough, it's Madonna getting her saddle time in. Great to see her lovely face out on a bike again. We also saw another group of Loons, maybe 8-9, riding loops. We were heading in opposite directions so we didn't get a chance to chat.

A fitting way to end our inaugural ride of the season! We didn't go far, only 26 miles. The usual first time ride emotions. The exhilaration of being out again, the heavy breathing of climbing hills and cursing the wind. It never changes, no matter how hard you've worked all winter, it's not the same as getting on that bike and pushing those pedals. You always get humbled and know that there are a lot of miles ahead. Come June or so, we'll start to feel like cyclists again. What a great sport.