Well, That's a Tradition, Now

I went for a morning ride with my neighbor John (aka John Down the Street) today. Got up at 6, though Dawn heard me trying to turn the alarm off and thought I was snoozing it. Had my morning 'long life cocktail' and a zone perfect bar and hit the road at 6:30. It was just the two of us, although there are three other guys he's been doing this with for years. Eleven, to be exact. Not sure about EVERY day, or the RAIN-OR-SHINE question, but I know it's basically meant to be daily. John turns 59 this Friday and started this ride 2 years before having a hip replaced. It felt great! Wound up through some of the nice residential areas of South Berkeley/North Oakland, including The Uplands and Chabot Canyon. Stopped briefly at Temescal park to enjoy the quiet and the outdoors (and rest a few minutes).

Wasn't really all that hard, though it could certainly be easier. The new bike will surely help with that (more gears, longer top bar, wider handlebars), but ultimately it's just a matter of practice and getting in better shape. There was one point when I wanted to shift into an easier gear (I was in my lowest) but was stuck between needing to hold the handlebars because of the pressure I was exerting on the pedals and wanting to reach down to the down-tube shifters to shift. The bike has arrived and the guy I talked to today said he'd put it together first thing tomorrow if it isn't done today.

I think I would like to make this ride a fairly regular thing...