The Right Ride

Last week, I rode the wrong ride.  This week, after some teeth gnashing and serious thought, I dediced to try to ride, even though it meant time away from family.  So I did this ride:

And why was this the right ride?  Here's why:

• I rode on Sunday, instead of Saturday.  This gave me all day Saturday to prove to my loving spouse that I could check off every box on the chore list.  We spent the day together as a family, working in the yard and completing minor home repairs in preparation for the sale.  And Saturday night, Victoria arranged for a babysitter, so we went on a date.  It was important to put all of this stuff ahead of cycling, both to me and to the rest of the family.
  
• Since I rode on Sunday, I knew EXACTLY what the route would be.  Team McAllen does the same route every Sunday, regardless of wind, weather, or whatever.  On Saturday, it's a free-for-all.  By locking in the route, I was able to...
  
• Leave from my house, instead of driving to the ride start.  Since the Sunday ride route travels within a mile of my house, by leaving from my house I got an earlier start, and just finished at my house instead of the normal Team McAllen start location.  This saved almost an hour.
  
• The Sunday ride breaks into 3 controlled groups:  Elite, Intermediate, and Beginner.  I chose Intermediate, knowing that we would ride between 17-20.  I finished with an average of almost 19 MPH.  Last week's ride was closer to 15 MPH.  I saved about 30 minutes by riding the faster pace.  This isn't always controllable, as detailed in last week's post, but today it worked out for me.
  

I've been home for over an hour, and I'm not divorced yet.  Vic even smiled at me and gave me a kiss.  Life is better this week.

.

.