Biking and mini-golf on a somewhat dreary day

I haven't been riding much this year, what with the rainy spring, time off for a trip to Iceland, and a generally lower level of motivation than usual. That spells trouble if I truly plan to ride ADK's Ididaride in August, 75 miles and a lot of climbing. Today, despite gloomy morning skies, I got out for a relaxed rolling 30-miler just to get in some saddle time. I rode this in "touring mode", downshifting and spinning easily, and coasting whenever possible. The idea is to save the finite energy for the later miles and be able to go farther as a result. It's different from the other sorts of rides I often do, pushing a bigger gear than necessary to build leg strength, or climbing big hills just for the sake of doing it. It was as much about "saddle time" (aka butt training) as it was about the legs. I rode my touring bike, and once again realized how much I love its smoothness, silence, comfort, and effortlessness, despite its relatively heavy weight. It was a good ride, and I need to start doing more like it.

Later, I drove to Holly's house, where I helped her with a few things, and then we biked an 8-9 mile round trip from there to a nearby mini-golf place, where we played a round and had some ice cream. I rode my recently acquired Lotus Excelle this trip, since I wanted to check out the results of a few tweaks I'd made to the bike's fit since the last ride. I'd also swapped out the pedals for some SPD pedals, so I can ride it clipped in with my same shoes. The bike felt pretty good now, and I'm tempted to get it out for a longer ride.