Tim convinced me to ride with him at Waverly Park this morning. The last few times I’ve been there, it was a sufferfest. I’m out of shape and overweight.
I’ve not been on the bike much recently. I haven’t ridden the Fargo in months. I prepared the Fargo last night, and Tim picked me up this morning.
Tim and I agreed that he’d ride ahead, and turn back and meet me again. He’s currently a stronger ride than I, and he’s better on the technical stuff.
Early on, I had shifter issues. I realized that if I stayed in the three lowest gears it would be fine. That’s enough for Waverly, which is rather hilly. I struggled soon into the ride. I wasn’t even sure I was on the right path for a while, but I was.
When we got to my favorite stretch of trail, Tim calls it “flowy”, I was able to increase my speed and enjoy it more. Tim still pulled away into the distance.
Once I was alone again, something happened. My mind went somewhere else. I lost track of time. There was no thought, no me after a while. Just flowing stretches of trail. I’ve experienced this before on a ride, but it was a number of years ago. I had forgotten it. I don’t think I was like that long. Tim had turned around to find me, and the skidding of his tires on dirt in front of me brought me back to reality.
Later in the ride, I managed to drop the chain off the bike twice. It was still a great ride.
We stopped for coffee on the way back. That was a good start to the day.
I have other, big, changes coming in my life. More later.