plans that go awry

i didn't wake up until almost 6:00 this morning. it took me forever to get bundled up for the cold, so i didn't have as much time as i would have liked to ride. by the time i rolled down the driveway it was nearly 6:30.

since my parents live near the top of a little hill, i decided to coast as far as i could. i made it to the other end of the housing development before i took my first pedal stroke.

leaving town, i went south today. i rode down to county road 458 and then headed west again. i had a few hills that i'd missed yesterday that i wanted to take in before we head home later today.

the greatest hill - if you're going down it - is just to the west of 1400 road on 1100 road. i flew down it, getting just over 32mph.

from there the plan was to ride in to lawrence and loop back to the house on old highway 10. my plans went awry.

when i got to 1200 road i couldn't help myself. i turned to the west and headed out to the dam. i had noticed the outlet park yesterday and wanted to see what it would be like to go that way without having to be frozen by the wind off the lake.

the trip through the park was awesome. no wind. a gradual incline. much better than the evil hill that i'd have had to climb if i went up and over the dam. i'm storing this route for future reference.

when i got through the park, i headed north toward the clinton parkway. i was going to ride it back through town and then take old highway 10 back to eudora. my plans changed again.

when i saw the bike path at the base of the hill, i decided to turn and take it back into town. i cruised along the 12" wide path, passing an occasional runner along the way. the path wound around and got me back to the hollywood theaters and highway 59. a quick cross-country maneuver and i was out on the highway and with a quick left back on the route i rode yesterday.

i shot through the baker wetlands and then across to haskell where i headed north rather than south. i climbed the hill back up to 23rd and took it east till i reached the turn off for old highway 10. from there it was a straight shot back to eudora.

i turned at the base of the hill back into eudora and rode to 14th street which i thought went all the way through to 2200. it didn't. i ended up having to zig zag my way back to 2200 using cedar, 12th, elm and 14th.

i turned south onto 2200 and a couple miles later i was back in my parents' driveway. i rolled to a stop a few minutes later than i planned, but none the worse for the wear. the extra miles will help me in my battle against Steve S. (38.16 miles @ 15.6mph)