A Bike Ride Before The Heat

It had been 10 months since my last ride. That is sad considering before that string of not riding started, I was riding outside 2-5 days per week up to October 2023. After that it was one excuse after another not to ride. I used so many of them, it is too long to list them. Yet today showed me the routine again, not only to keep the dogs safe while I am gone in HOT weather but one that I can use every time I ride with a new puppy.

The Hounds & Dog ESCAPE --- Gone !!!

Taking this photo and the next one of Henry this morning while standing in the great room, little did I know what would bring a HUGE adrenaline rush to me today. It was my fault as I had a total mental failure that led to their escape. Instead of going out of the fence gate to mow the grass I took the lawn mower from the shed, through a single door into the garage and out the opened garage door. While I mowed, due to the high temps the hounds and the dog were basking in their cooled AC rooms.

Photos From A Year Ago

The day looked promising but I knew after seeing the 10-day forecast last night that soon after our lunch, the gray thunderheads would be moving in with rain in the forecast. That still gave all three of us time to do what we do ... hound walk, biking, hounds sleeping, me reading. Since I did not have a lot of photos to choose from today I went back into the library to August 21, 2019 and pulled some photos from a year ago. Big difference eh?

Once again Stella was highly active for some reason. She trotted from the time we were on the street all the way down the block to the vacant land across the street. Then she would spend time with her nose pressed to the street or ground identifying scent ... bounce up and start running to get ahead of me. I stopped her hip supplements a few weeks ago as a test. I'm not sure what game she is playing now ... but she is enjoying her walk.

As soon as we got back from the walk and I had a cup of coffee enjoying the mountains to my right, I decided I was riding in plain clothes today on the mountain bike. I'd still take two water bottles with me just in case I decided to ride longer. I was only going to follow the bike path around the west side of town and then come back home on the east side ... but with me plans always change.

This is the best photo I have taken of the Aerostat. I am back in love with my older Nikon D3200.

I ended up riding out toward the canyon again like I do most days only today I wanted to force myself to go slow. I wanted to keep my heart rate in zone two as they call it. For me that would be around 118 bpm. I can see that information on my Apple watch using the Strava app while I am riding. That app also records my distance, time, speed, and heart rate as I am riding.

I ended up riding a little past 25 miles and had a hard time keeping my heart rate below 118. There are too many gradual climbs where even in low gears, fast pedaling, the old ticker jumps up to 130 bpm pretty easy. My plan this week is to ride a total of 6 days by riding slower, less effort, and enjoy the scenery.

I had just opened the door for the hounds to take a break outside, at their request. A loud clap of thunder filled the skies as I was looking at the sunshine over the Mule Mts two photos up. To my right is where all the noise was coming from. I tried by holding the camera shudder halfway down to time the next lightning strike but it never happened.

As time passed the darker it got, the temperature dropping and rain everywhere but my house. It's almost the end of August and I have not seen too much of the 'infamous' monsoons I was warned about. All the locals told me "you are just in time for the monsoons" when they found out I had just moved here. Either way is good with me. I love living here ... no bugs ... no humidity ... beautiful skies ... friendly people.

So here is the start of the photos from last year to the day ... August 21, 2018

Looks like the skies were getting ready to rain there too.

While I have moved from the kitchen cooking an actual meal of steamed veggies and brown rice/lentils for lunch, both hounds followed me from room to room. The living room to catch some sports news and finding out that my Reds game had already been played at 9:30am my time. When I came into the computer room to check some things on the computer both hounds followed me and plopped down in their corners of the room for more sleep.

Stella seems to be use to the louder than normal thunder now ... she sleeps through these kinds storms. They have never bothered Heidi.

I moved back in the book Going Back to Bisbee. It's a slow read but a fantastic history lesson of this area. Now if it were the winter I'd be more motivated to read but in great weather, even when it's high 90's it just hard for me to sit still long enough to read many pages at a time.

Stella's light snoring is making me feel like a siesta for me is right around the corner here in the Wild West.