I rode my bike today. Not bad if I was say 12 years old, but it’s the distance that made the difference. Here’s the breakdown of an hour’s worth of bike exercise:

* 1 mile to the Signal gas station to get air for the tires. It’s free, not like the brand new place across the street which wants 75¢. I didn’t buy water here and it would come back to haunt me later.
* 2 miles to the point of no return “Eastgate and Catalpa” on the map linked above.
* 3 miles to from the point of no return to the Royal Bend on the map. That was the point where I realized I was tired, hungry and needed water very badly. I’d left the house without water or eating breakfast, intending the workout to go 25 minutes.
* 2 miles from Royal Bend to the Kum and Go convenience store where I got Gatorade, water, a banana and a Snickers bar. I finished them all before heading on. My legs felt like they were filled with lead but in 10 minutes, the electrolytes and sugar kicked in and I started the trip home.
* 1 mile to Eastgate and Catalpa a second time.
* 3 miles later and I’m home

That was 12 miles in a little more than an hour. Fun but it sure seemed longer than 12 miles.

The next ride is Tuesday and it’s supposed to be 30 minutes. We’ll see how far I can get.