The Journey

Hello Spring . . . . for now. 

Pre-Ride Jason and Nikki 

Spring decided to peek its reluctant head into our corner of the world this weekend, so we took advantage of it. Jason saw the writing on the wall pretty early in the week, so I scrounged for a babysitter and found a taker on my first call. We watched our favorite weather sites throughout the week, skeptical that the favorable forecast would remain. But it did. 

So, instead of the routine Sunday afternoon long run, on Saturday we took turns logging our long runs with friends and playing with kids (which was arguably a pretty nice day compared to what we’ve ran through the past several months).

Sunday dawned calm, clear, and warm. And we were both itching to put some miles on the bikes with scenery that didn’t involve a man in khaki shorts, a polo, and a stopwatch barking orders at us (Coach Troy, you held us through the winter, but we it was time to test the wheels out on the open road). We loaded up a couple of our best friends, four bikes, and the necessary nutrition and cruised on up to what Jason promised would provide both beautiful scenery and challenging hills.

Some people might question the choice to drive over an hour to ride bike. After all, aren’t bikes an actual form of transportation? So why transport the transportation? Go visit Lake Cochrane near Gary, South Dakota, and you’ll understand.

Gary, South Dakota has fewer than 250 people (according to the sign outside of the “city” limits). Lake Cochrane, home to the OutlandChallenge (Jason’s first and arguably favorite sprint triathlon) has striking scenery with a spring-fed lake, rolling hills, and just plain pretty prairie. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia that makes me love it. It reminds me SO much of where I grew up. In fact, outside of the rollers, I would’ve thought I was riding within miles of my parents’ home place. Fresh air, cool but favorable temps in the 50s, stunning scenery, and great friends really made for a fantastic afternoon.

After gearing up, airing up, and fueling up, our gracious host who lives on Lake Cochrane along with the four of us took off. We had a basic agreement: ride out an hour and turn around. So we did. We each had varying paces. Eventually we spread out. Regardless, though, this ride offered us all the perfect balance of companionship and time to think alone. When we returned, we exchanged bike shoes for running shoes and ground out a three-mile transition run. All told, the workout challenged us and left us feeling accomplished and grateful for the opportunity to tackle some scenic hills.

The reward for climbing a hill: you can see Gary!

As we began to pack the vehicle up and refuel, the most philosophical among us summed up the afternoon best: it’s not the end product that really matters when we train. It’s the journey and the people we meet along the way. As I look back at the pictures of the scenery and the friends we experienced this part of our journey with, I just smile. I can’t stop smiling. Really, indeed, it was a perfect afternoon.