I have been off of the bike for a while. Since the Jack Frost Time Trial.

First, I was was taking some rest days. Then I began to feel ill with a bit of a head cold. After a few days, I started to feel better so I climbed onto the trainer for some easy spins. Then I had a series of migraines. When my head started to feel better from the headaches, the head cold came back. It was only yesterday that I felt good enough to get out of bed.

Today was the first Banana Belt Road Race of a series of three. Joanne wanted to race, but I was in no shape to do so. Instead, I did three rather easy loops around Hagg Lake.

Hagg Lake Loops

My goal was to just get some miles in. I had no intention of riding hard, I just wanted to ride.

Joanne’s race started at 10:00 am, so when she headed off to the starting line, I started my ride. The races would be riding counter-clockwise around the lake, so I rode clockwise. The sun was shining, but there was a definite nip in the air. I had three layers on and long fingered gloves, but no booties. It was cold, but bearable.

The Hagg Lake Loop is about ten miles long with over 700 feet of gain. There are many rolling hills. There is only one section of flat, the section atop the earthen dam. But that section is exposed to the wind.

As soon as I left the parking lot, I started climbing a short hill. And I felt like a slug, a Banana Slug. I could feel that I had been off of the bike for a couple of weeks. None the less, it was good to be climbing again. I kept my heart rate down, except for a couple of uphill sprints, but overall, it was an easy training ride.