Endurance Progress

Today marks the first time I have ridden my bicycle to work four days in a row, and if you don’t count the weekend, it has actually been seven in a row. I realize for some of you, riding twenty miles a day is nothing, but less than three months ago I needed a day of rest after just one day of riding.

What I think is really great is that, unlike a gym membership, I feel like I want to ride even more. Since the rainy season here in Florida is almost at an end, there will be little to stop me from never driving again, except my wife. She likes it when I get home before her so I can take care of the cats and make something for dinner. Oh, the complexities of life…

I must say that my wife does deserve a little pampering. She works very hard and treats me well. As an example, when I got to work on Tuesday I noticed a big tear in the seat back support. I pulled it off the bike when I got home, washed it, and my wife, Rose, sewed it for me. She was concerned that the thread was not black but I couldn’t care less. I am just glad I didn’t have to park the bike while I waited for a new mesh back.

Nice repair, huh? Should I complain about the thread color?

My Motivator

I mentioned when I started this blog that one of the reasons for doing so was to motivate myself to keep riding and not let this bicycle go the way of the gym membership. I had that in mind when I last posted that I was going to ride to work yesterday, rain or shine.

Well, my wife was watching the weather yesterday morning and told me it was going to rain. The first thing I thought was, “Crap, I am going to have to drive to work.” Then I thought, “Crap, I can’t do that. I said I would ride, rain or shine.”

I checked the radar on the internet and determined that the line of showers was heading my way but if I left soon, I might beat them. So I hurried up, got ready and was out the door by 6:40, for a 9:00 a.m. job. It worked. I beat the weather and still had time to stop at the grocery store and pick up something for lunch.

It looks like today I will be dodging the weather on the way home.

Near End to Hiatus

It has been almost two weeks since my bicycle has seen the light of day. I was away for almost a week on cruise and came back sick with a sore throat and cough. I decided it was better to wait until the symptoms diminished before I over exerted myself.

Today I feel mostly better but I still have a cough that won’t go away. I thought about riding to work this morning but it is raining now so perhaps it will be better to wait until tomorrow.

I am a little anxious to start riding again. I actually miss being out on my bike and I am also worried about waiting too long and losing all the progress I have made. So rain or shine, tomorrow I will be riding again.

Riding With Others

I have become very used to riding alone and in some ways, it is nice, but there is something to be said for having a riding partner.

My friend Rick made the two-hour ride on Saturday, from St. Petersburg to where I live. He is an avid bike rider who has much more riding experience than I do, but he is not a pro cyclist, he is just a regular guy who enjoys using his bike for transportation. Since that is what I do, I can always count on some good real-world advice on subjects like carrying groceries and avoiding traffic. He even motivated me to get myself better prepared for a flat tire, which I know is coming. I have procrastinated but I need to buy better tools and I should probably replace the tubes at home so I can practice.

Anyway, we took a casual ride down to the park and along the water. It was nice having someone along that I can talk to. I look forward to the cooler weather when I can spend time riding with my wife, Rose.