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What a day for bike riding
By mike | May 10, 2008
So there I was, wishing I had scheduled a Team Clydesdale ride this week instead of next when, about 8:45 am this morning, the phone rang. It was Tim, saying a group of very impatient riders were at the meet spot.
He had them all say their names in the phone.
I felt guilty. For a second. “But wait, we didn’t have a ride sked for today,” I told Tim. “It’s next Saturday.”
“Well.. everybody’s here anyway,” he said.
Bottom line, Tim became team captain for today and took the group out.
I went out about an hour later. My ride partner today was my wife, Jennifer. We set off for Paint Creek Trail from our house at a super pokey, sub-10 mph pace. She rides too low on the bike but refuses all my suggestions to raise the seatpost. She tends to stay in the same gear, too. I think she did the ride to please me and, as we knocked off about 13 miles, I felt guilty again.
I think she enjoyed the trail, though. She did a 10-miler two weeks ago and today’s 13. All she needs is more time on the bike.
At any rate, she headed for home and sent me off alone to get in a little more heavy training. Along the way this morning, I ran into Jim, a Clydesdale regular, out for his training. He told me a red tailed fox had just crossed the trail in front of him. We regularly see deer but this was the first fox sighting I’ve heard of. Jim headed home, I headed on.
A mama duck was giving her newly-hatched ducklings swimming lesson in a pond at the Lake Orion end of the trail. Nearly, some kids had set up a lemonaid stand right on the trail and seemed to be doing a brisk business. In Lake Orion, I pedaled over to the Paint Creek Bicycle Shop to look up my old friend Todd. Todd, I discovered, no longer works there. I looked around briefly, fantasized about a new bike for a couple of minutes, and pushed off again.
What an absolutely beautiful day for bike riding. I ended up with 22 miles for the day.
When I returned home around noon, I had two e-mails waiting from others who expressed interest in joining Team Clydesdale.
So, here’s the deal. Next Saturday… and every Saturday there on, we ride. Just show up at the library at 8:30 am.
If we change the route or meet space, well post it here. Meanwhile, click on the forum link above. Introduce yourself and use the forums to further our Clydesdale community, suggest training routes, ask and answer bike questions.
Oh yeah, one more thing. You don;t have to be a Clyde to ride. Some of us our bonafide Clydes. Most aren’t. But it’s a fun name for us. Team Clydesdale.
See you out there…
Rode Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday this week. Total mileage: 65.
How ’bout you?
Topics: bicycle |
May 10th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Nice to see someone got out. We (my 2 kids and I) had great plans. The tandem was on the car and my daughters bike on the rear bike rack. We made it 1/2 way to South Lyon (Huron Valley RT) when my car died (and it’s a new car). We had to borrow a van to get the tandem and bike home before the tow truck picked up the car. I guess I won’t make my goal for mileage for the week now since we have plans for the evening. Frustrating considering how nice the day was.