My Life On A Bike

Returning home to Georgia after 10 fabulous days of exciting Swiss adventure has been difficult to say the least.  Immediately upon my arrival I was greeted with some challenges not easy to accept, but denial would not change matters.  Armed with a renewed sense of strength and energy, I have jumped in head first to the deep waters of Life’s “Suddenlys.

For 10 glorious days I biked and hiked and biked some more, almost 40 hrs worth to be more exact.  Therefore, I felt no guilt in my lack of aerobic activity this past week.  I did not do anything because there was simply no time in my schedule for such indulgence, and the truth is, it was not missed.  Exhaustion was seeping from the top of my head to the core of my pinky toe and rest and regeneration were much needed.  I got some, not enough, but some nonetheless.

Saturday was my first day back on the bike since last Sunday’s huge Swiss “2 Gap” ride of 111 K with 3,000 meters of climbing.  By all accounts, I should now be fresh and ready to go, but I know better than to fall for that empty promise.  Roger fixed the flat on my lonely dejected Trek that had not been touched in weeks.  Not quite the sporty red BMC racing machine I had ridden for 2 days up eternal mountain passes, it would have to do.

Today’s ride would pale in comparison to what my recent agenda held.  We were meeting at the Bud Brewery for a birthday ride, celebrating MarkT’s 50th and TomA’s 54th. Two riders, 6 and 10 yrs my senior that can still kick my arse.   Goodness I hope I will still be kicking someone’s butt in 10 years.  The route gently rolls over benign hills, but I knew it would still be tough.  It would be one big paceline effort of trying to hang onto the pack which would be driven by an over exuberant, Cam.  He, unlike me, was recharged and stronger than before ready to bust out of the starting gates and pull the pack the entire ride.   I let out a deep sigh as I settled in the car for the drive over.  Oh well, at least I will get to see my friends.

See my friends, indeed!  The parking lot was overflowing with cars.  We wondered if this was the start of Beautiful Backroads Century instead of a casual group ride.   3 different groups were converging with the same idea of riding from the brewery.  All my peeps were  there:  Barry, Alexis, Carl, Ellis, Nancy, Scott, Chris, Al, Keith, Greg, Steve, Terri, Brent, rlaz, Rich, and MarkO w/Nick and Mikey.  Of course, MarkT, TomA, and Cam were there.  There must have easily been over 45 cyclists.   Cam and I were styling in our matching Swiss jerseys, living up to my mantra of “it’s not how good you ride, but how good you look.”   We were lookin’ good!

With my spirits slightly lifted by seeing so many friends, we started the ride.   My thoughts were back in Switzerland with Kat racing the Inferno today.  How was she doing?  I sent speedy thoughts her way as I weaved through the massive pack to work my way up to our group.  The pace was easy and my legs enjoyed the spinning.  What a stark contrast to what I was doing this time a week ago.

Last weekend, Cam and I had been left under the watchful care of our temporary Camp Counselors, Buggy and Gustav, for a weekend of road riding while Martina tended to non camp related activities.  Saturday was an “easy” day which meant a mere 3 hr ride with just 3,000 or so ft of climbing.  I knew this route.  We did it last year right before our Gruyere Tour, and I don’t recall it being “easy”, beautiful, but not easy.  Having just come off 3 days of mtn biking and a 2 day mountain glacier hike, my legs were screaming as I tried to keep up with Cam, Becky, and Jeff.  It was useless and I rode the entire ride off the back.  This would have to be my 3 hr “recovery” ride in preparation for the next day’s brutal Alpine Pass Attack with all their Euro Pro friends.  At least the route was gorgeous and I enjoyed climbing through the thick woods and bursting out in the open with views stretching for miles.

Back to reality, my ride in not so stunningly beautiful White, GA.  Sure the land rolled out before us in pretty green hues with little traffic to bother us, but I was now a Swiss snob looking down my nose at this scrubby Southern land.  We passed by cows grazing methodically in a pack.  I wondered if they felt the same as I when they came back from visiting their Swiss bovine friends.  Is the cud not as sweet and views not so fine?  Do they dream of happier days munching on Alpine grass on a steep mountainside with a clanking bell about their neck, watching happy hut hikers pass them by?

Starting to think our ride would not be at a fast and furious pace, my dreams were dashed as I noticed Cam taking his place at the helm.  Dang!  The pace got faster and faster, gears shifting, heads down, wheels to nose, the mood changed.  With a 54 yr old in front of me and an 11 yr old beside me, I was impressed at the range of abilities in this tight knit group.

The intensity persisted and the pace continued to build.  No time for pondering life’s questions now.  I had to focus on keeping up.  Finding my place in line, I begrudgingly put my hands in the drops and got down to business.  My heart was pounding and I wanted to explode.  On, on, on, Cam drove the train.

I did my best to keep up, but my legs came up short on a climb.  The strength just was not there.  Crap!  39 minutes and I’ve come unhooked from the train.  Barry came blasting by followed by Alexis as if I were standing still.  In vain, I tried to jump in their draft.  Cursing under my breath, I dropped my head and surrendered.  I hate this part.  This is where you have to give yourself the lecture.  Your evil twin tells you how lame and pathetic you are.  The head beating begins.  These days, my transition time of cutting off the evil voices is much faster than in the past.

The words of my dear friend, Jeff, rang out in my head in response to the spot of bother in which I had gotten, “Well, build a bridge and get over it.”  I took inventory of the other lucky strays and we gathered forces.   I convinced myself that I was still recovering from a big trip and an emotionally trying week.  The scenery was not so bad afterall, and I picked a manageable pace to keep things rolling.  Rlaz and Mark spurred me on and we forgot to be upset over being dropped.

Roger was riding strong, no surprise there, but he still chose to eventually hang back and see how I was doing.  He pulled us in to the store stop where we rejoined the rest of the gang.  I resigned myself to finishing the ride without the aid of the pack as we filled up our water bottles.  Walking through the convenience store was very different from our rest stops in Switzerland.  Overweight parents and their goofy looking kids were stuffing horribly unhealthy food into their mouths while good ole boys walked in looking for beer at 10 a.m.  No, not the magical stop in a quaint little Swiss village while we filled up our bottles from the city fountain as svelte Euro hikers headed up a dirt path off the road.   I could only roll my eyes and sigh to myself.  Yes, I am from the South and proud of it!

Either my legs opened up for the 2^nd half of the ride, or the pace was slightly more manageable.  Regardless, I was able to hang onto the back without getting dropped by The Cam Express.  This was good.  I needed to get my heart rate up since I had not really been anaerobic in over 2 weeks.  That’s why I struggle on these rides.  I never work hard enough.   I don’t like to do that anymore!   It hurts too bad.  I want all of the glory, but none of the pain.  Sorry, life does not work like that.

As time marches on, I cannot come to terms that my body does not recover like it did in my 30s.   Cam is still young enough that he can bounce back quickly.  I’m hardly near the grave, but the fact of the matter is you just cannot jump back in the game ride after ride after ride and still expect to put out a high effort each time.  Even Greg, our local cycling hero, confessed to me his difficulty at accepting a slower recovery now that he’s 50.  Perhaps he is human after all.

Today’s ride was a nice lesson in dealing with the path before you.  I wanted to be somewhere else, in lovely Switzerland with my exciting new friends, but I was not.  Dwelling on that fact was not going to make my life any easier.  Surrounded by tons of faithful wonderful friends, I needed to focus on the great blessings at hand.   It’s too easy to want what we cannot have while we miss the good things that are right in our grasp.  The ride was challenging, no doubt, but through the combined effort of my fellow friends, I was able to conquer and push through the pain.

I cannot tackle the rough road ahead alone.  It will take the love and support of family and friends, of which I have an abundance.  Cycling is my classroom for the lessons of life.  With persistence and dedication, a little hard work and consistency you will find yourself at the top of that mountain that seemed impossible to climb. And if you are lucky, you will be surrounded by the great people that helped you through your journey.