A RIDE TO ENJOY RIDING
Since I had been diagnosed with prostate cancer I had not
been back on the bike. Not even for a short
ride around the block. Recognizing that
I could be off the bike for a while, Saturday morning I decided it was time for
a ride. I didn’t have a plan for how far
I might go, but I wanted to get out and enjoy it. It was supposed to be hot, but my plan was to
head out early and try to beat the heat.
I got up at 4:40 and got dressed for the ride. The sun was due up about 5:25 and I hoped to
see it rise while I was riding.
I grabbed some PowerAde along with a couple of Honey Stinger
waffles for breakfast and headed into the garage. I aired up the tires, put a stick of gum in
my mouth, grabbed my helmet and gloves and was out the door before 5:00. My destination was somewhere to the west. I wasn’t sure how far I would make it since I
haven’t been on the bike in a month but it didn’t really matter as long as I
get to ride today.
There were just a couple of wisps of cloud in the sky,
catching fire from the sun just below the horizon as I swung my leg over my
steed and I headed off to the west.
I tried not to ride too fast but as I started going I just
felt like I needed to push it. It was if
I was trying to run away from something and the harder I pushed myself the
better I felt. Shortly my breath was
coming in ragged gasps, but I kept at it.
My world collapsed down and all I was aware of was my breathing and the
turning of the cranks. I felt the pain
start in my legs, a burning ache that would normally make me back off, but
today I needed to feel that burning. I
needed to push as hard as I had ever pushed.
I passed Fort Apache Rd and Grand Canyon Drive and I kept
pushing. Ahead of me I saw the sun start
to light the tops of the mountain peaks.
I pushed harder and the burning intensified. My breathing was nothing but gasps for air,
but I didn’t want to let up. I made the
slight turn along the kink in the road to the left and knew I was only a mile
from the intersection of route 160. I
kept the hammer down, but knew I was running out of steam. I down shifted a gear and then another as my
legs were giving out.
I was to the traffic information sign, less than a half mile
to go. I dropped down to my middle ring
and it was too easy, I was turning the cranks too fast, but that didn’t last
long. I was slowing as the turn
approached. I downshifted again and hit
the slight downhill before the climb to the turn.
I was on my middle ring and upshifted a gear, then two to
keep my momentum into the climb, but my legs were weak, I had nothing left and
quickly had to down shift, one, two, 3 gears.
I was in my second to lowest gear ion the middle ring and barely able to
keep moving forward but I was still moving.
I made it up the incline and around the turn. The road leveled out a bit
here and I stopped for a moment to catch my breath and take a drink of PowerAde
as the sun cleared the eastern horizon.
In that moment I simply enjoyed the breathtaking view as the
sun light the landscape. As the light
flooded the valley I appreciated the subtle differences in color, the browns,
tans and taupes all looked rosy in the light from the rising sun. I knew it was a good day. How could it not be? I was here, enjoying the sunrise, having
gotten here under my own power, riding my bike.
The moment was fleeting.
As the sun rose into the sky the temperature started to climb as
well. I felt the drain the exertion had
put on my body. I started riding again,
heading slowly down the road for another mile or so before I recognized that I
was in no real condition to go farther.
It had been stupid to push so hard so early in what I had hoped to be a
long ride. I was cooked. I was done.
Fortunately it was downhill back to the house and I had to do little
more than steer the bike as I was exhausted and barely hanging on.
I got to the house, put the bike in the garage and staggered
into the house. I collapsed into my
chair. It took a while to regain some
strength but it had been worth it to be out there and see that sunrise this
morning on the side of the road with no one else around.
I realized I had forgotten to stop my Garmin when I entered
the house. Fortunately I had it set to
pause whenever I stopped moving. I
stopped it now and curiously put it into the cradle to download the file from
my ride. I had no real expectations for
the number but was surprised when I looked on Strava. Seems I had set a
personal record on the segment from Fort Apache to Route 159. Looking at the
numbers I realized that I had done that section a full minute faster than I had
done it before. I guess going all out on the bike does have its benefits.
After that I was tired and ended up nodding off for a couple
of hours until Linda woke me to go get ready for some breakfast. It was a good
morning.
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