Around 6:30 I got on the bike, and started on what I believed would be another casual 10 mile ride. The trip was fairly normal up until I saw this my-ageish girl riding her bike at a really fast pace through downtown lake orion. Interested in meeting some new people, i started following her. Following her went for about 5 minutes until she met up with another biker, so then he joined in on our little ride.

Then as we passed KFC, i remembered someone recommending i jump on the paintcreek trail, which lies just east of KFC. So, i turned in, and went back until I found the gate for the trail. One other person was jumping on the trail at the time, so, I just passed him up, and started hauling ass.

As I speed down the path, I passed up many different people. Some bikers, some joggers, some people walking their dogs. I was doing about 15mph, with casual jumps up to 20. I watched my trip distance as it climbed up near 10 miles, but i just kept going, relentless. The trail was absolutely beautiful, and I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to check out some other parts on this wonderful day.

Eventually I reached the end of the trail. I was stranded in downtown rochester, but i wasn’t very worried. It was about 7:40pm, and the scenery of the city was really nice. I wish I would have brought my camera, but i wasn’t planning on taking a long trip.

So, i chilled out in rochester for a little while. There was a river, and some bridges, and some tall buildings. However, the sun was looking pretty low, so I started on my way back home. My trip distance meter said i had rode 14.50 miles.

I started on my way back, I was much more tired than before. There was some wind from the southwest, so i was kind of held back. But, I did manage to keep an average speed of 14mph, with regular energy boosts speeding me up around 20mph. The sun was going down, and i had to wear my sunglasses because i had nowhere else to put them. After the first break point, I asked another biker what time it was, and he told me that it was 8:15. I said thanks, and continued on my way.

As I continued, I saw some signs that i had seen coming the first way. Each one gave me a little hope, as I continued home. There were a few people out still, but not as many as before. There were about 60 during the first half, and I have to wonder if something special was happening this day. I got a few waves, and there some pretty girls walking the trail.

I ran out of water around the 15% mark of the second half. I had been searching for a party store to buy some gateraid, but to no avail. Around the 48% marker i did find a water fountain outside a flagstar bank. The fountain didn’t squirt high enough for me to fill my bottle up, but i did get about 20% of the bottle with the angle i had to hold the bottle at.

Continuing, it was getting darker. This provided me with the motivation to ride as fast as I could, but i was getting hungry, since I didn’t eat anything before leaving. The hunger held me back a little, but i managed to keep up a decent speed.

Looking down at my odometer, I had passed 20 miles. This killed my motivation, as I still knew i was far from finished. However, I was reminded that I still had 5 miles to go between orion, and oxford. So, i continued on, exhausted, and starving.

Rounding a corner, I saw a couple of bikers. They were taking up both lanes of two-track, so I had to stay behind them for a little while. But, as I looked up I realized that I had finally reached downtown orion. So, I gave the two a “coming through”, and bursted into the other lane, to pass both of them and get back onto that sweet, sweet pavement.

The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. I rushed back, and for the first time in my life, cherished the chance to stand at a stop light. Everything was was easy. I rode some large hills like they were nothing, and got some decent speeds. I was still very hungry, but i was no longer thirsty. My stomach was aching, but that just made me want to get home faster.

I sped through orion, and the little bit of oxford that i ride. I made it home at 9:45pm.

Trip distance: 28.30 miles
Total for the year: 1,185.0 miles
Max Speed: 21.5 miles

That’s how i spent my night. I don’t know if i’ll be able to ride tomorrow. My hands, wrists and knees are killing me.