TFJ: New Bike and Stuff

TFJ = Tired of the Fat Jokes Since purchasing a spinner a few months ago, I've been pretty consistent. I've got a full page of entries now on my workout sheet. I've lost, maybe, 5 or 6 pounds...not great, but I feel a hell of a lot better. I can actually go up a flight of stairs without getting winded. Yay for me. Last weekend I bought a mountain bike, so I could ride around with LC. No Jeff, no cool pedals yet. I'm just getting started. Need I remind you of my heyday? I picked the bike up early Friday morning. LC had asked me to come down to the Y(MCA) to see him swim that afternoon, so I thought that would be a perfect opportunity to break in the new bike. The Y is only a couple of miles away. For normal people. I decided to take the "back" way. Only there wasn't a back way. But I kept going...thinking that at some point I would find a street (I was on the trails, in a park). This park was underwater...well, the roads were. See, I took the back entrance into the park, so I missed the "Road Closed" sign. Every 100 meters or so there was a stretch of trail underwater, for about 100 meters. Did I mention this was my first outdoor ride in ~10 years? After the 2nd or 3rd one, my heart was racing and my arms were killing me. I stopped. Then walked a little. Got back on. Got off. Back on. Finally, the park entrance...and more importantly, a road, a paved road. OMG! I'm like 2 miles north of where I want to be. Make it about a mile. Stop. Half mile. Stop. Finally just push forward, I knew they had sustenance at the Y. I was supposed to be there at 2. I arrived sometime after 3. Bought 2 bottles of Gatorade. Said hi to LC. Went outside and sat down. Exhausted. After about 20 minutes, I gathered up my remaining strength and rode (straight) home. Took 10 minutes. Total time: 2 hours For perspective, this is what I did: Blue line is the direct route to the Y. The red line is the route I took. What can I say? I had no sherpa!