This is a non-intro.
If you've read much of what I've written here over the last 6 years (Thanks. Apologies.), you may have noticed I tend to use a little "editorial trick" of leading with some memorable quote, then bend my subsequent blather around it. It's just a tool. A hook. A cheap trick to make it appear that I have some clear narrative arc. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, meh. Today I'm gonna mix it up and not do that. I'm going to keep it simple: just share my weekend ride with you, along with some of the thoughts that bounce around in my head while I'm out by myself.This is what happened this Saturday.
Given our extended snow season and resulting late start to the cycling season, I'm a little overdue to start logging some miles in preparation for the Pan Mass Challenge ride this August. (You don't just show up and ride a bike for 192 miles without some training. At least not this kid.) I've been biking to/from work every day, and done a few 38 mile 'out-n-backs' to the Nashua Rail Trail already... but Saturday was stacking up to be a stand-out day so I decided it was high time to "kick it up a notch" and hit the hills of Harvard for my old standby Littleton/Northboro loop (about 53 miles).This is the route.
This is GPS track log from my ride. (Click on it for a larger version.)
I didn't include my max/average speed on the picture, because it's pretty dismal. But in my defense, I wasn't going for speed: just wanted rack up some miles and get some hill work in... sorta like taking a course "Pass/Fail" course. No cramps or crack-ups so I passed. Yay me.I got a late start -- not on the road until about 9:30 AM, when most cyclists are wrapping it up. I'm just not a morning person (and definitely not like "most cyclists" anyway.)
The first thing I noticed when I crossed the line into Harvard was how the otherwise blue sky looked smoggy. The pollen blowing off the trees was so thick it looked like smoke from a nearby forest fire. Smoke would've probably been easier on my throat and eyes. I inhaled so much pollen and dandelion "floaties" that I was hacking up yellow all day. (Over-share. Sorry.) Anyway, the pollen abated somewhat by the time I got down to Northboro, about 25 miles into the ride. I stopped a couple of times to chat in Northboro: once with my brother-in-law (rode by him helping his friend sow in some grass sees), and once at my in-laws to chat and rotate fluids.
Planus tire redux: When I left my in-laws I headed over to Marlboro then north up route 85 toward the Assabet River Rail Trail. On route 85 in Marlboro I noticed my rear wheel felt "rumbly". Flat. Sonofagun. Flat tires are a fact of life in cycling, so I was prepared. Normally, a flat is no big deal, and hardly worth writing about unless it's a "ride buster". However, I am compelled to mention this one, because -- and I am NOT making this up -- this flat happened within 50 feet of where I had a ride-ending flat before on May 20, 2012. So after I stopped laughing about that coincidence, I walked the bike off the main drag to a shady side street, changed the tube and was back on the ride in about 10 minutes. But this time I made double certain to sweep the inside of my tire carefully to check for any remaining sharp items. (That 2012 "double-flat" was a mistake I definitely learned from.) I'm thinking I may tweak that route to avoid that stretch of road next time.
Hudson: the pause the refreshes. Once that flat was fixed, I was on to the rail trail and in Hudson within a few minutes. I had originally planned to stop at the Rail Trail Flatbread Company to sample their wares for lunch, but I forgot my bike lock and didn't feel comfortable leaving it right out there on Main Street, unprotected. So, instead I went with my old standby around the corner at the Horseshoe Pub. (When I stop at the Horseshoe, I just throw my bike over the rail inside their patio area out of site so I don't need to lock it up.)
After a "Smittix" and a burger I was back on the road to home. By that time, he sun was out in force and I was very happy that I had doubled-down on the SP70 sunscreen (yes, 70) before I left home.The ride back to Littleton from Hudson was textbook: No issues at all. I could just about ride that route blind-folded, by now. Sandy and the cats were there to greet me when I arrived. After a stretch, shower and some ibuprofen I was good to go. For a nap. ;-)
This is what goes through my head while I'm riding.
Early on in the ride in those hills around Harvard, I was a little discouraged seeing how slowly I was climbing. Between wheezing, sneezing and coughing out pollen, I was cursing myself for getting fatter and already feeling the pain in my knees. I was a mess. About that time I took a drink from my water bottle, and the "PMC/Jimmy Fund" logo on it caught my eye. That snapped me out of it: Here I was, out biking on a beautiful day, but managing to get all knotted up about a little joint pain or being a little slower, older and fatter. This, when so many of my friends, family and co-workers have willingly endured the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation -- hoping the toxins and radiation will kill the cancer before it kills them. At that point I remembered why I was here in the first place, and lucky to be here, at that. A little "perspective reset" like that will put self-pity in it's place pretty quick.
So what if I'm a little slower and my knees hurt a little? I'm out on a bike, man! Doing the next best thing to flying. I'm looking forward to more and longer training rides over the next couple of months, to get ready for the Big Ride in August.
This is the quote that I didn't open with.
"The world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming it."
-- Helen Keller
