Never once has it crossed my mind to go mountain biking on my lunch break. Actually, I take that back… it has. But only in statements like, “mountain biking on my lunch break? Are you crazy? We work in an open office! I can’t come back all smelly!”
Well folks, I did it! My co-worker Sparky went biking last week on her lunch break, and this week I decided to join her. What the heck? It was going to be cool, so I wouldn’t get too smelly or sweaty, and we weren’t going until 1, so even if I wasn’t looking my best, I only had to get through 3 more hours of work. Since I didn’t have any meetings, it seemed like the perfect day to go.
Let me tell you, it was awesome. It. Was. Awesome! It felt like cheating! Who gets to go mountain biking on their lunch break? If it hadn’t been for the 30 Days of Biking Challenge I probably wouldn’t have done it. I knew I had to bike at some point today, and lunchtime seemed like as good as any.
So here’s how I planned it out:
1. I of course packed my bike clothes, helmet, shoes, wet wipes, washcloth, etc. the night before.
2. I dug around and found my smallest trail running camelback. A lunchtime ride in 50 degree weather does not require a large pack! Sparky didn’t take one at all. Mine held 50 ounces of water, and I threw in my little bag of bike tools, just in case.
3. I grabbed some leftovers for lunch. Looking back, I wish I’d thrown in some cheese and crackers or a Clif bar, because afterwards I really wanted carbs.
I loaded up the bike, locked it in the bike rack, and drove to work this morning ready for a ride! We headed out to Lunch Loop, and 6 minutes later pulled in the parking lot. (That’s no exaggeration: it really only takes 6 minutes of driving to get from my work place to Lunch Loop/Tabegauche).
We had the best time! Because I was with fast riders (a friend of Sparky’s met us there), I PR’d on almost every segment! It was a blast though! It wasn’t crowded at all, and we just had fun. We did the basic “lunch” route of: up Pet-Y-Kes, down High Noon, across and down Raven’s Ridge, and then down Curt’s Lane. Even stopping a few times and chatting, we did it in 47 minutes (moving time was 36).
I think I did a pretty good job of cleaning up, too!
If you get the chance, I really recommend riding on your lunch break. Whether it’s on a paved trail or dirt, just get out there any time you can!
Only 12 days to go!
