Between poor mental health, other commitments (not all of them unpleasant), and real life, I haven't ridden as much this year as I'd planned to. I'm trying to get back into shape, and into the routine of regular rides. I did a couple this weekend, and I'm reminded that, especially at my age (NOBODY would look at me and think I'm even middle-aged anymore), I've got to keep up or I'll lose fitness.
On Saturday, Nov 23, I saw that Neil C was leading a ride that was going to come within a couple of miles of the new house, both on the way out and on the way back. I asked about meeting them on the route, and we had a discussion on what to expect.
There were four of us, all on titanium bikes. I was planning to write about this as the "ti bikes ride", but I was struck by something else. All of us have been in the club for decades, and two of them have been riding together for most of their rides for most of that time. Our speeds and strength vary widely... but we were careful of each other to look out for whoever might be falling behind, and to keep each of us involved in the ride and in the associated conversation.
It was a lesson to me about friendship over time, about changes in expectations as time passes, about tolerance and kindness. Between hills and demanding winds (especially on the way back), it was a difficult ride for me, but I'm glad I went.
Today, Sunday, Nov 24, I scheduled a ride from Franklin down to Princeton and Hopewell, and back. I had ten takers, nine at the start and one to pick up along the way.
It was another windy day. This time, the wind was against us more at the start. Most of the riders were stronger than I (that happens often on my Sunday rides); I tried to keep up, but wound up leading from the rear.
We were about eight miles in when we noticed one of the riders was missing; I was afraid we'd dropped someone, but it turned out the rider had been off the front and missed a turn. We waited a bit while another rider went to try to find her, but went on when that didn't seem to be happening. (We got text messages later about what happened; the two who'd gone off found each other, and decided to cut the ride short when one had mechanical problems.)
The rest of us continued through Princeton and turned in at ETS.
From there, we went through a few neighborhoods, to the stop at the Boro Bean.
That still-life of the helmet and muffin, above, took SO MANY SHOTS to get right.
And back. I was tired on the way back; while the group was polite about not dropping me, I was clearly in the rear for the last several miles (despite a strong tailwind much of the way).
It's the wrong time of year to try to get in shape for riding; instead, I hope not to lose too much more before spring. And here's hoping other commitments and poor mental health don't conspire to interfere with that plan, any more than they already have.
No comments:
Post a Comment