Today I woke up at about 2 am sweating profusely. I didn’t feel ill but I knew that  this wasn’t a good sign. When I finally got up, I had a runny nose and a scratchy throat.

Riding relatively heathy is hard. Riding ill is  nearly impossible.  So I decided to head East towards Bradley International Airport and wait there to see how the illness develops.

The ride was only 32 miles.  My legs felt rested as I attacked the hills.  But while riding my heart rate was unusually elevated and its recovery was unusually slow. Clearly, I’m not well.  So I took my time.

I encountered one blocked trail:

I pondered jumping the barrier but decided against it.  My previous bear encounter influenced my decision. That barrier would severely limit my escape options if I ran into another bear.

The detour added another 7 miles.

At the end of the ride, I realized that I would have struggled cycling my originally planned 69 miles. I probably would have hit the wall and needed to hit my satellite SOS button (which I’ve never used).

Sometimes we have to recognize our limitations.  Good call, today!

Assuming that I have a cold or the flu, my plan is to hang out in Windsor Locks for three nights.

Tally for the day: 40 miles, 2,000 ft of climbing