Warm weather and being Euro.

Weather in Ohio has just been amazing the past couple of weeks.  Blue skies, green grass, white trees and temperatures in the 80's.

Wait...this is March isn't it?  Sure doesn't feel like March but just like most of the eastern states, Ohio was caught in a great very nice stretch of weather.

Going back to the 14th, when I had my Muscle Milk taken from from car, the weather allowed me to ride outside.  Five days of riding netted me 110 miles outside on the bike. 

The windows were open in the house, the dogs were sunning themselves on the driveway, the trees were blooming white and pink.


This past Saturday was the first day of potentially crappy weather.  Rain was predicted at 60% and temps around 60, higher than normal but lower than the previous 2 weeks. 

The weekend was cut short due to my travel schedule for work so I had to switch my run and bike days. 

On Saturday Aimee signed up for the Dirty Dash 10k.  This race is part of the Dirty Trail Race Series.  I wanted to take pictures at the race but also needed to get in a bike ride.

I decided to take pictures at the race then ride my bike home, however long that would take. 

We packed up the car and headed out to the race.  I had a lot of fun taking pictures during the race.  Watching people ham it up for the camera and cheering for friends. 

After the awards were handed out I changed into my cycling kit and got ready to ride.  Then I realized I was missing a very important piece of equipment. 

My Helmet.  SHIT!!!!

I couldn't believe of all things to forget it would be my helmet.  I NEVER ride without a helmet.  Even if I am riding along side Aimee during a run I wear my helmet. 

Aimee had a couple stops to make before going home so I decided to go ahead and ride.  I would detour to Bike Authority, the Snakebite Racing team bike shop, and get a loaner helmet. 

It felt weird riding without a helmet.  I felt...naked.  Of course 10 minutes after starting two friends from another multi-sport team went riding by in the other direction.  I felt stupid for them to see me riding without a helmet in my team kit.  There was also the fire truck that passed me on the road.  They were probably hoping I wouldn't crash.  I'm sure they didn't want to scoop my brains off the road. 

I was very careful, especially on the downhills.  I kept my speed in check and didn't attack the descents like I normally would. 

My route to Bike Authority took me straight through downtown Brecksville.  Again, I feel stupid riding my bike without a helmet. I wanted to take off my jersey so people wouldn't know I was with Snakebite. my internal dialogue was probably much worse than what people were really thinking but I'm serious about setting a good example when riding my bike and want to project a good image for cyclists and the team. 

I finally made it to Bike Authority and Chris set me up with a helmet.  He saw me walk in without a helmet and thought I was going all "Euro" on my ride.  Nope....just being stupid and forgetful.  I took a break and chatted with Chris and Mike then headed back out. 

It felt so good to have a helmet on my head for the remainder of my ride.  I could concentrate on the ride instead of being paranoid. 

The rest of my ride was great.  The Metroparks had traffic but wasn't excessive and the drivers were respectful of me being on the road.  I stopped in at Second Sole to top off my water bottle and start my final push home. 

After 3.5 hours of ride time I rolled into the driveway with 64 miles behind me and a new helmet that will stay in the car as my emergency brain bucket.

Game On.