Busting out the Bicycle

Spring is in the air, and I wanted to get outside. I put the cycle tube on the egg and brought the bike into work for a lunch time ride. So what if the temperature was only in the 40s. I brought a plenty of warm clothes into work with me. I was pretty excited.
I was also pretty terrified. Knowing that I spent the previous week in pain from a few hours in the pool, I was pretty sure that any time on the bike would result in pain. I also wasn't sure my cardio-vascular system was in any shape to get beyond the parking lot.
I layered myself in long johns and fleece and saddled up. I have a short route near work that is about three or four miles long that I planned on riding. It is long enough to feel like a bike ride, but short enough that I can walk back to work if I'm dying. On a good day I can rattle the ride off in about 20 minutes, so I was figuring it would take about 40 minutes today.
My estimate was pretty close. It took about 35 minutes. By the end I was winded and my legs knew they had been worked. The one hill on the ride, which is short and not very steep, was challenging. It didn't, however, require standing or make me consider walking.
All in all it was a good first ride. I figure after a day of rest, I'll do it again (if the weather holds). Who knows, by the time May rolls around I could be in good enough shape to ride into work or pull bug around in a bike trailer for family outings.