HOW SWEET IT IS!

I hadn't ridden in a couple of weeks, since Stephanie and Rigo came to visit. Rigo is thinking about getting a mountain bike, so I let him use my old rigid commuter Motobecane. Never having ridden mountain bike trails, he didn't know what to expect.

Rigo is a natural athlete, so whatever he lacked in technical skills, he made up for with athletic talent. He really did well, although he did admit it was tougher than he thought. (I need to take him to Government Canyon).

Last weekend was a bust. Since I usually ride on Sunday mornings, I missed an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day to ride last Saturday, then Sunday was overcast and yucky. I wasn't about to let that happen today. Weather forecasters are calling for 50% chance of rain tomorrow morning, so as soon as the sun came out in all it's glory about 9 AM this morning, I was off to McAllister Park for a ride.

I was telling Mel it is amazing how Spring has changed the dynamics of my ride at McAllister. Having gotten used to the lack of vegetation during Winter, the lushness of Spring has changed the landscape completely. Now you feel more secluded and like you are riding completely different trails.

About 3/4 of the way through my ride, I decided to ride up the side of a large levy near the dam. I like to ride up to give my legs a workout. It is always a challenge not to come off the seat for leverage, so I try to just stay in the granny gear and muscle my way through it. It's not an especially challenging climb, but for fat asses like me, it is a workout. Imagine my surprise when I came around the corner about to start the climb, when I saw two teenage boys, both slim and muscular, walking their bikes up the levy!

"BIKER UP!", I yelled, to get their attention to let me pass. They both pulled their bikes to the side of the trail and said "No problem sir". They might as well have said, "No problem, you fat ass old bastard". I hit the bottom of the hill in 2nd gear and churned my legs in rhythm as I changed to 1st gear. "This is not Government Canyon, this is not Government Canyon" I chanted to myself for motivation.

Once I reached the top of the levy, I glanced over my shoulder to see both teens with their mouths agape. At that moment, I realized how Mom and David feel every time they ride with people hundreds of years younger than them! (They both take extreme pride when people see them riding their bikes, utterly amazed that they are not using training wheels or rocket boosters for assistance).

As I rode further across the levy, I was tempted to stop to catch my breath, but I was determined not to let the two boys see me do so. I kept riding although my right calf was cramping and my lungs were about to burst.

Just when I thought all was lost and I would have to stop, an Angel from heaven in the form of a sweaty old shirtless man, appeared on the trail. We both stopped at the same time and he said "go ahead". I said, "no, I need the break more than you do."

He said thanks and proceeded to continue running down the trail. It later dawned on me that he might be feeling the same way about me as I did about the teenagers...actually, I doubt it as he was in fantastic shape; not a fat ass bastard like me!

Nevertheless, I wound up doing a two hour ride with only one flat. For some reason, whenever I ride one particular trail in reverse, I always wind up getting a flat; you'd think I'd learn.

Regardless, I felt so much better after my ride. We are in our fourth quarter of our fiscal year at work and it is the home stretch as far as hitting our goals. It is always the most stressful time of the year, so I have to make sure I am getting my rides in regularly as I should. I also need to get my butt to the gym two or three times during the week.

Mel and I are off to PetsMart to get some dog food and look at fish. Our huge algae eater died last weekend and the other fish look lonely....