Wednesday September 14, 2016
Today was another step toward recovering from the crash. I got the phone call last night that my bike was ready to be picked up. I was ready to ride. I've missed my bike. For those who don't know, her name is Misty. When I first got her, I knew I'd be spending a lot of time with her. I joked that Brittney would be jealous of the time I spent with Misty. Like a Mistress, of Triathlon. Mis-T. Misty it was. Once I got to the bike shop I was excitedly nervous. Then I saw her. All cleaned up, new chain, new bar tape, tires and wheels looking good! What a relief!
Off to the bike path I went. First ride back and I was still pretty sketchy about cars. Especially silver cars! But I put on my gear, including my new helmet!
I was ready to face this. No specific mileage or time goal. Just get a good ride in and make sure there were no lingering effects. I promised myself if I felt bad at all, I would stop. No reason to push things today. The started off great. Legs felt good. Air was warm, sun was bright! Not to many other people on the trail. Life was good. I was a bit more cautious at intersections today though. I completely stopped more often than usual. I made sure there were no cars going to hit me. I got to Xenia Station and continued south. Thats my favorite route. Plenty of shade. Fast going south, gotta work a little harder coming back. I figured an hour out and turn around. I just so happened to be close to mile 18. I'm a numbers guy. Numbers run through my head all the time. Not sure if thats a blessing or a curse, but its me. My Ironman bib number 1836, came to mind. 18 miles out and back equals 36! PERFECT! So at mile 18, I turned around and headed back. About mile 22, Brittney sends me a text message. My Garmin will show me the message. I saw "I hope you're not riding.." Now I had a decision to make. Stop and read the entire message. Continue riding toward my car. Or continue a little bit to a stop point then read the message. I know my wife. We've been together for a long time. I know how supportive she is. I remembered the forecast said possible rain showers. I put 2 and 2 together and guessed the message stated something like, "I hope you're not riding toward the rain storm" or "I hope you're not riding in the rain." The sky was clear where I was. The sun was out. I made it back to Xenia and noticed the sky looked a little darker toward Beavercreek. I figured I had 9 miles to go and I would beat the storm. This section from Xenia to Beavercreek is downhill, but almost a false flat. So not a hill where you just coast, but a little effort carries you a long way. I passed 2 riders and started really pedaling. I checked my watch at 1 point and saw 23 mph. I was having fun! I slowed way down and stopped at an intersection. one of the guys I passed, rolled right up after I stopped. He thanked me for the ride. I was caught off guard at first. Hit me pretty fast he drafted off me. I said that was fun! He agreed. I said lets do it again! I took off. I heard him say he would try and keep up. I started flying. Loving the speed. Loving that free feeling. Then I felt the rain drops. Then the cloud burst! Holy rain was falling on me and soaking my socks, my shorts. My tires didn't stop as fast at the next intersection. I was glad I slowed down way before I usually do. The other cyclist caught up to me. We talked as we rode through the storm. His name was Ray. 30 years in the Air Force. Just retired. Has done 30 marathons. Injury led him to cycling. Nice guy. Sure enough, when I reached my car, the sky cleared up. Sun came out. Nice. Oh well, it may rain in a race, so good to practice. Got to my car and hit my watch. 36.36 miles. Perfect. So I check my messages. "I hope you're not riding in the rain." "Are you ok?" Brittney may have been slightly worried about me and my cycling. I offered back that I was soaking wet, but feeling great. She texted "Your cycling is never dull!" She isn't wrong. Then I checked another message. Katie found a
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