· I mentioned on my “Bicycling” page how riding a bike gives me a profound sense of freedom. I guess it’s because riding a bike harkens me back to the days of my carefree youth. In those days most families in the neighborhood had only one car, and during the week our dads usually took it to work. If my buddies and I wanted to go anywhere, our options were limited to walking or riding our bikes.
And that’s where the freedom of riding a bike came from. On a bicycle, my legs (and parental permission) allowed me to go where and as far as I wanted to go. A trip to the grocery store to pick up some candy and comic books invariably led to an all-day excursion to the Highline Canal to hunt for crawdads and lost golf balls. As long as I was home by dinnertime, nothing was usually ever said about my long absence.
Of course, in those days it was not unusual for our parents to feed us breakfast and then boot us out of the house and tell us not to come back in until lunch. Heck, there were a few times that I was informed by my mother that if I valued her sanity and my own life it would behoove me to be gone until my father got home from work.
· I’m slowly working my way into riding shape. By that I mean my ass is finally getting used to being on the saddle for a few hours at a time. I am in no means in healthy shape, but the callouses on my gluteus maximus are coming along nicely.
I had to special order this helmet to fit my ginormous noggin. Most bike shops don’t carry circus tent size.
· I occasionally peruse cycling magazines and websites for useful info. The bicycling media love to push the latest (and usually exorbitantly expensive) bikes and cycling products. Invariably, the biggest selling point for these items is their light weight. I am going to say right now I am not too concerned about saving 2 grams of weight off my water bottle cage when I need to remove at least (44 x 3 + 12) pounds off my bicycle’s engine.
· One of the joys I take in bicycling is observing the world around me as I whiz by. I never had this sensation when I jogged. Perhaps it’s because when I am riding I need to be focused on what I am doing. That I need to beware of potential dangers and pitfalls as I zoom along. While bicycling I am in the Now.
Fly-fishermen on the South Platte river
Rafters putting in on the South Platte river
I mention this because I have taken several rides over the past couple of weeks, and I have been very aware of my surroundings. I have reveled in the bright green new growth on the trees and shrubs. I have stopped to watch fly-fishermen casting for fish and rafters putting their tubes into the Platte river. I’ve raced a thunderstorm back to my truck on the Cherry Creek trail. And (dirty old man alert), I have cast covert glances at the lovely ladies out enjoying a stroll or jog in the late Spring sun.
I’m old. I ain’t dead.
· As you can see by this picture, I have made a few modifications to my ride. I’ve added a rack and a trunk with fold out panniers for when I commute to work. I have also added bar ends to the handle bars. These give the bike somewhat of a male bovine appearance.
“Ees strong…like bull!”
I’ve added the bar ends because I am riding what is known in the industry as a “hybrid” bike. It’s a little bit of mountain bike and a little bit of road bike. One mountain bike aspect is the straight handlebars. These bars allow me to ride in a more upright (thus more comfortable position for me) riding posture. The downside is that, unlike the traditional drop bar, the straight bar doesn’t allow a rider to shift hand positions. For a short ride of an hour or less, this is no big deal. Longer rides than that and the hands start to hurt or go numb. The bar ends allow me to shift my hands and avoid the numbness.
· I’m working up the courage to register for a bicycle event later this summer. My initial goal was to do the Elephant Rock ride down in Castle Rock on June 3rd, but I was not even close to being in shape to finish the ride so I skipped it.
So, for all the world to see, here is my tentative goal: to ride in either the “Tour of the Moon” ride in Grand Junction or the “Bikes and Brews” ride down in Canon City. Both are in September, so that gives me 3 months to get myself ready. No excuses.
