thank you.

Meet two friends
Epic ride ahead
Chicago to a lake
In Wisconsin

At first it’s chilly
But then grows hot
The miles roll by
Corn field after corn field

Backroads
Farmhouses
Tractors
Barns
Birds in song

We crack jokes
Talk in funny voices
Stop for a nature break
We’re half-way there

The last eight miles
Steep rollers
Hard climbs
Sweeping descents

I’m cracking hard
Cramping in my
Hip
Back

I let them go
Slide off the back
Soft pedal the
Last two miles

And when I catch them at the end
Hit the stop on my computer
It is with joy and surprise
To see 18.5 for just over 65

Today, a personal record

I am rusty and out of shape,
Expected to be left in their dust,
Clearly on my packing list for the day
Including humility is a must.

27 miles in the hot midday sun
27 miles & they “just want to race for fun”
27 miles after not an ounce of training in the weeks before
27 miles and I fully expect to be sore

In top shape I had such an ego
Ihought I was oh so fast
Who knew bombing down the wrong hill
Was all it took for that not to last?

I was known to be fearless
I was known to nearly fly down hills
I was known to train oh-so-hard
With my long rides and sprinting drills
It was a rude awakening then to learn
The speeds of my descents
Were the exception to the rules

So I chaperone the girls,
keep an eye out while we ride
I never expected to beat all my old times!
My average used to my 10, give or take 2 or 3.
Imagine my suprise when even with a headwind
And temps in the shade were 93
My body felt I had ridden gently
But my computer said I had an average of 17!
for all 27 miles at the speed of 17!

But cycling for me
Is kind of like golf
Where most days make me want to
Ride off an embankment
And hide my face in shame
But every once in awhile
I put on my good legs
And power through rides like
Cycling was something I was meant to do

Those are the days
That you remember
That make you get back on the bike
Like when I raced my first triathlon
Gasp
And finished the 18 mile ride in 56 minutes
±30 seconds

Now off to the airport
To go on vacation
Where I’ll rent a road bike
And ride by the ocean
And show the Outer Banks
What 17 mph ±0.5
Really looks like
Thank you