I'm Jeff, a middle-aged triathlete with a passion to improve in the sport. Residing in Southern Indiana, these pages are where I share my journey and experience - or sometimes the lack thereof.
It has been just over two years ago that I started cycling (around May 2008). Since then I have had many great experiences and memories that have taken place during my time in the saddle. One of those memories came during a group ride organized by "Top Spot Outdoors" in Evansville. While shopping for some biking equipment they told me that they had a group that got together a couple mornings a week for a 20-23 mile ride. The rides started at 5:30am so that meant we would be starting out in the dark. It was on that first early morning ride that I had one of those "moments" as I was topping a very large hill and seeing the sunrise from the saddle. I had not seen a sunrise in years. At that moment I recall reflecting on how much my fitness level had improved, but more importantly; that my lifestyle was changing much for the better . It felt great getting such an early start to the day and being able to experience the sunrise was an extra added benefit. I went on to participate in several of those group rides with Top Spot that year and was fortunate enough to experience several more sunrises from the saddle. During the riding season of 2009 I was unable to participate in those early morning rides due to work constraints and it would be almost two years later before I could manage to slip in another pre-dawn ride. That day came on the morning of May 30th 2010.
This ride held more significance to me for a couple reasons. One being that I would once again get to enjoy seeing the sunrise from the saddle. And secondly, the completion of this ride (3hrs and 40 minutes - 65 miles) would mark the end of my highest training volume week for the year 2010. In anticipation of seeing the sunrise from the saddle on this morning, and being able to share my experience here, I armed myself with my camera and headed out at 5am. Here is the sunrise as I experienced it that morning. This photo is taken from Olmstead Road just north of Evansville. Below are a few more photos from the same ride.
Another sunrise photo from Stevenson Station Road.
Some call it "fog" - We in the Midwest know it as "humidity".
Rolling down Olmstead Road. Hopefully my next sunrise ride will be sooner than later.
