Yesterday was rough. Our neighbor is 93 and we found out he doesn’t have long left yesterday. We packed our tandem in my wife’s SUV and headed to the hospital to visit with him before the ride. He was surrounded by family and friends. My youngest was already in his room with him before we got there. We had a nice time chatting with our ailing neighbor, then headed to the club ride getting there with plenty of time to spare.
We changed clothes and readied ourselves and the tandem.
This week, we let the elite guys roll out first and gave them a 30-second head start. The B-Group (which is everyone else’s A-Group) rolled. We took the lead and the first mile into the wind. The pace was good and we hopped off the front in good shape, with the group together. The next mile, with us dropped to the back, was great. Then one of the younger kids, a once-hopeful pro, took the lead and promptly took the pace to “oh shit” and busted the group up. On a gravel bike. With gravel tires. We re-grouped and went on. The with was strong and gusty and from a great direction… for the second-half of the ride.
I could tell, by the time we were ten miles in, my wife’s head was with our neighbor. I was having to heap on some power to keep wheels when my wife’s dipped suddenly and that constant yo-yo took its toll. I blew up about fifteen miles in, just before the hills… and it was an epic bonk. My legs went to rubber in all of an instant. At the base of the first hill, I eased up and we slipped off the back of the group that had already spit off a member. I told my wife what was happening and said I’d thought about turning around, then did. Matt was on his way up the hill to us and my wife urged me to turn back around and do the full ride rather than cut it short.
She was right. I turned the bike back around and we headed up the hill again to catch Matt. It took us a couple of miles, but we caught up and rode with our friend the rest of the way back, having a lovely conversation whilst maintaining a decent, but not too crazy, pace.
We had a choice to make on whether to stop at our normal re-group place with ten to go but decided to press on and get to our dinner after talking it over. The rest of the ride oscillated between great and fairly painful. I have a feeling I’m overtrained and my wife was hurting over our neighbor and trying to put all of the pieces together in her head. We toughed it out, though and brought it home.
Some of the church girls have taken to having a snack and Gatorade stand at the ride finish. No cost, ice cold beverages and light snacks for the riders. They’re there every Tuesday. I had two tiny Yellow Gatorades and my wife, an orange. We talked to our friends, then got changed, and loaded the car. Then off to dinner.
It was one of the strangest Tuesday night rides I can remember, but it was great. Of that, there’s no doubt. Thank God for good neighbors and cycling friends. And my wife. And for God cooling my head, so I can accept things as they come rather than make them worse. And thank God for good friends, in the right place at the right time.
Thanks God.
Me.
Fit Recovery 