Ride to a bike shop

I've been shopping around for bike shoes and finally found a pair I really like that don't cost me an arm and a leg, but no where seemed to have my size...not even websites online. I called another shop here in town and asked if they had them, and they did, plus they're not too far from my apartment. So I hopped on my bike and rode to the shop. The shoes are great, and this shop is going to put on my new pedals for free! No installation fees, which rocks. I can't wait to start practicing on my new cleats and pedals!!!

My ride ended up being about 5.4 miles today. The road I had to travel was relatively busy, which was a bit scary, but I did well. I spent most of the ride thinking about a conversation I had with Shelly on Sunday. She asked me during our ride if I was afraid of going too fast, and I realized I kind of am. So today I tried going fast down a hill and hit 19.4 mph, my fastest speed to date, and tested different gears at different pedal rotation speeds, etc. It was a learning experience.

I also had ANOTHER dog scare today on the same street as last time!! This one was more scary because the dog actually chased after me for a while. Luckily, though, I had been thinking about my riding/pedaling speed throughout the entire ride, so I just hauled ass and got far enough ahead of the dog that it gave up the chase. If I ever get a dog, I'm going to teach it to respect cyclists!!! I'm not very fond of the road I'm being forced to ride on at the moment because of the dog experiences, but also because one of the major streets by our house is closed for construction (we only have two ways out of here), and so I can't get to the neighborhood I've been riding in until they re-open the road. Oh well. Hopefully it'll be done soon and then I can ride everywhere I want to!

I made this mix CD for my Grandpa with a bunch of inspirational songs on it. If anybody that reads this blog wants a copy, post a comment with your e-mail, and I'll e-mail you for your address and info. I've included the LIVESTRONG song on the CD and several other awesome songs that have meant a lot to me. As always, donations to my ride would be appreciated, but the CDs are free. :)