Carol - This week I'm trying to make up for my lack of miles last week.  Monday night I logged a quick fifteen miles in forty five minutes.  Wow...that was a sweaty ride on the trainer.  The shower sure felt good though afterwords.

Tuesday - Off to the gym to lift weights.  I worked hard on my upper body and then used less reps but a much higher weight for my legs.  I do believe this is really working as I've noticed the hill home is a little easier each time.

Wednesday - The skies looked grey when I got up but I decided to ride anyway.  I started off from the house and took my normal route to town then along the bay to Fairhaven and over to where "The Markets at Fairhaven" was.  It is now being improved so a farmers coop can go in.  I still manage the property so I thought it would be nice to duck out of the rain for a bit and visit the tenants.  After waiting out the rain I headed back to town and with the sky still spitting on me I decided to continue my ride even if it was close to town or through the neighborhoods I'm not very familiar with.  However, once I was through town I took off out to the airport and over I-5 through a very high traffic zone.  I mean more traffic then I thought I'd ever feel comfortable riding through.  It was so busy that I was afraid my arm would be hit if I signaled to turn into the left turn lane.  Since I value my arm (and my life) I decided that it would be okay to use the cross walk.  After crossing over the rode I could hear one of the local nurseries calling me.  I must stop here and say that one of the joys of riding for me is to check out all the landscaping and get ideas for my own yard.  I feel like I have been neglecting my flower beds since Cassandra and I have dedicated ourselves to this ride.  So this was my indulgence....go to the nursery and look at flowers...the only bad thing is I never like small plants that maybe I could bring home on my bike instead I always go for the big ones.  I sure did save a lot of money by not having the car.  Anyway, after a brief stop at the nursery I did a loop and visited Rich at work between classes. 
The highlight of my day was going to the bike store on the way home and buying clips for my bike.  Up to this time I rode in regular tennis shoes with regular pedals.  After getting everything set up on the bike they had me try clipping in and out several times. Not a problem.  I also bought a set of decksters, which is a clip-on platform so you can still use your bike with regular shoes.  These were a must since Rich has been riding on the trainer....and also for my confidence.  I had been apprehensive about using clips up to this point but decided if I was going to ride with them in July I needed to give myself plenty of time to get used to them.  I left the bike store with the intent of using the platform portion until I could practice more.  The only thing is that when I went to put my left foot on the pedal it had turned over and now when I put my left foot down it clipped in.  I gave a small sigh (okay a big sigh) and decided that I would give it try.  Low and behold, not a problem.  In fact, after clipping in and out several times on the left side I decided to try the right.  Again, not a problem.  By the time I arrived at home I was using both clips at the same time without any problems.  Now I'm excited to see go out again and practice more.

Notes:
Ride length forty miles
Average speed 14.5
Clips worked great
I need to remember to order our ID bracelet's this week.