We enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather today. It was perfect for a late winter bike ride (65F at the start, 80F at the end!) save for the 25 mph wind gusts that gave us a little problem. I picked the route to shield us from most of the wind. Another group in the bike club did a route with 20 miles dead into the wind before turning and getting a tailwind back home. We had a route that mostly went 90 degrees to the wind and had trees often to soften it when we had to head into it. It was behind us for much of the way home. I averaged 14.2 mph on the ride today (C pace is 13-15 so I was about in the center of the advertised range) My avg speed for the over 63,000 miles ridden since I started as an adult in 2001 is also 14.2. Which is to say, no matter what bike I ride, whether my weight is up or down, my riding pace is pretty predictable. I don't ride for speed anyway. I ride because I really enjoy it. I enjoy the sound the bike makes as it's pedaled and the tires roll over the paving; as the chain moves around the gears and through the derailleurs. I like how my legs feel when they are working to move me where I want to go. I enjoy the company and conversation of other riders, the stories shared at store stops, the undulation of the highway, the signs of color in the fields and trees we pass, I could go on. When I enjoy a bike ride, I am enjoying God and the creation spread out before me. Eccl 9: 7,9 captures the essence of it. There is war in the world, there are troubles because we inhabit a broken, sinful place. yet there is joy too.
" 7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. 9 Enjoy life ...."
Today we met an African American couple at a store stop and I talked to them about getting bikes and joining us. Since we were a bunch of white folks, they might have been skeptical. I shared with them who Major Taylor was (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_Taylor) and about our sponsored race team the Red Tails (named for the nickname of the Tuskegee pilots in WW II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen). I asked the gentleman how old he thought I was. He missed by about 20 years too young. "It's because I ride. You should too!" I said. Told him about our free bikes at the club Outreach as well.
I called our son last night and we had a nice conversation. We shared about our jobs and both of us are blessed to have the jobs we do. For me, doing the same things week in and week out with customers, co workers, etc. helps insulate me from perceiving the passage of time. Retire? Why? I have a job I like, it pays better than being retired and comes with benefits. Some obvious, some less so. Another thing that stays the same.
People from my past cross my mind from time to time. That probably happens to a lot of people. Today I went digging to see if I could find my 1st ever friend, John White. He lived next door and was 9 months older than me. Our moms were friends and we played together in diapers, and later overalls and jeans. We lost track about age 10 when we moved to another town. I'd heard later he got into drugs, got straightened out and worked for an airplane manufacturer. I found his obituary today. He died suddenly in 2004. It is a reminder of the passage of time when people I knew (or still know) finish their time here and move on to what's next. So my long ago playmate is on my mind tonight. But so is the joy of the ride today and the promise of another ride soon to come. Maybe even tomorrow. Here's a picture of my 1st bike ride, with my dad (died in 1996). John is the one watching, back to the camera.
