It was a lovely day all-around with hardly a cloud in the sky, and most of my chosen route was tree-lined and shaded.
In Harvard, southbound on Rt 110 near 117, I noticed 3 riders on the side of the road, one bike upside down -- not unlike their smiles. It was a flat tire, of course, with no working bike pump and nothing but empty CO2 cartridges. I gave them one of my cartridges (I always have at least 2) and they were back in business soon, with all bikes and smiles right-side up again.
The fellow with the last flat was a British guy named Daniel. I was wearing my PMC 2012 jersey today and that prompted Daniel to tell me he would be riding in this year's PMC -- his first one! I congratulated him and he agreed to look for me at the Sturbridge start. [Maybe he'll give me a new CO2 cartridge. ;-) ] Daniel's riding buddies (a guy and a girl whose names I'm afraid I forgot) were both very supportive of Daniel's PMC commitment and had a lot of questions for me when they found out that this year would be my 10th PMC ride. Most of the curiosity/concern was about the fund-raising commitment: "Did you ever not make your minimum?", "Is it hard raising that kind of money?", etc. I answered "No" and "Yes", respectively but I felt compelled to make the bigger points:
1. Just commit. You'll figure it out. You never know until you try, and the only way to get something started is to just start it. There's never any promise of the "right" moment -- but there is "now", so just punch the ticket and get on with it. Things have a way of working out when you act.
2. It's not about you, or a bike ride. Until I really internalized that myself, the task (and it is a task) of repeatedly asking people for money was almost unbearable for me. I still suck at it, and I wish I didn't have to do it, but at bottom of it all money is what it takes to fund research and treatment -- not pretty thoughts and good intentions.
Interesting (and maybe appropriately) they never really asked me about any details of the actual 192-mile ride itself. And I guess that reinforces point #2. And truthfully, I didn't really say all those exact words to them (I wanted to get back on the road, too) but that was pretty much the gist of our roadside chitchat, while Daniel inflated/mounted his tire.
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| Here's the map of today's ride. |
The rest of the ride was blissfully uneventful. It was a little warm (mid-upper 80s) and I got a little burn on the tops of my legs (curse of the recumbent pose and my Scottish genes). Probably the biggest letdown of the day was that I arrived in Hudson too soon for the Horseshoe Pub to be open. (They open at noon on Sundays but I was there at 11:30.) Alas, I would not be able to re-balance my electrolytes with my usual Dead Guy Ale and burger. So, I had to settle for lunch from the Sunoco station: a Snickers bar, two 32oz Gatorades and a bag of toffee peanuts. Greatly-reduced circumstances, indeed.
I certainly didn't set any speed records for the day, but that's fine; I was most concerned about rebuilding my long-ride stamina and making sure this old meatbag was still OK for a 110 miles at a whack. I'm happy to report that all systems are Go, and I'm none the worse for wear.
Oh! I also have a happy, recent discovery: Sandy's rolling pin -- which I've only ever seen used as a hammer -- makes the BEST massage tool for my legs. With that little jewel, I can give myself a pretty thorough post-ride leg massage in about 10 minutes, eliminating virtually ALL of my post-ride stiffness. My only complaint is that it took me 10 years of soreness to figure this one out.
Finally, it wouldn't be a PMC blog post without an appeal for your support. My fund-raising for this year is "off" (i.e. nowhere near the same level as this time last year).
To those of you who've supported my fund-raising for cancer research, Thank you -- both for your support and for your patience with my never-ending pleas for donations. I can't thank you often or loudly enough.
To those of you who haven't yet donated for this year's PMC for cancer research and treatment: please help us with your generous donation. You'll never find an easier way to do more good. I'll even loan you my rolling pin.
