When I was age 15, I could ride 135 miles in one day...but at 65, I am lucky to do 35 miles. Marsha (who can kick my ass on a bike) and I went for a ride late this afternoon on a familiar route which is a loop around Finn Hill, down the hill to Kirkland, then South to Juanita Beach and return up the hill on Juanita Drive to Finn Hill. It really is not that far...less than ten miles. But the ride back home has about an 800' rise and takes a little effort to crank it out. This is our warm up ride to try and get into riding shape. When we feel better and have sufficient "butt" miles...we add about five more miles to the ride.
Now that I take medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol...riding is just one of the many ways to keep the heart pumping. We also have an extra bike upstairs on a stationary roller for keeping in shape. But those miles are not equal to the effort of riding the hills. A couple years ago my best day was 65 miles with many hills included. Marsha was my motivator and would push me to get extra butt miles. I would ride the rollers twice a day and would ride the Burke Gilman trail almost every other day. But when I moved away from Kenmore (the trail was 1/2 block from my condo) it seemed less motivational. The trail did not cry out "ride me".
Marsha continues to push me and I know it works both ways...if I ride then she will ride. At 65 it is very easy to grab that remote and watch a movie. I even have a permanent reminder in outlook every day to ride. But, who reads their nagging mail? :)
When we rode to Denver for WeSTOC, one of our day rides took us over a 12,000' mountain. We zipped up the mountain on the motorcycle and passed a rider from Switzerland who was half way up to the summit. About 20 minutes later he made it to the visitor’s center almost at the top. He was not out of breath and was eager to pose for pictures. He said he travels the world riding to the summit of high mountains just for the fun of it. Oh to be young again.
Where is my remote control?
Besides the remote, how about some green olives stuffed with blue cheese, pinot grigio white wine salami and a few crackers??
ReplyDeleteI understand as I had a notion of riding across the USA for a retirement trip... The heart and lungs are willing... but the pain, oh, the pain... I've had to be rescued twice at the 35 mile mark. So, it ain't happening, I guess.
ReplyDeleteMarsha and I bought a Tandem thinking we might do some long distance...so far it is still hanging in the garage. Maybe we will do the Seattle to Portland ride. Still to accomplish is getting back in shape plus take some weight off. :)
ReplyDelete