Giving Thanks, Rides 95 and 96

That I was able to get out on Thanksgiving Day (for a solo ride) and the day after (with NJ Uncle Steve, he of the 68+ years and he of the 5000 miles ridden this year) is enough for a shouted THANKS to the powers that be - the Bike Gods, the Life Gods, the God Gods, the Ganesh and Krishna and Buddha Gods, whatever. I'm still riding this late in the year and as I scribe this blog entry it's December 1st and I almost managed to get the third ride of the Holiday break in today but today, alas, was cold & raw, 34 degrees, drizzling, a miserable, Dickensian downer of a raw Londonesque day. Instead of notching ride #97 and paring away a thousand calories, I noshed on cheese & crackers & Belgian ale and watched the New England Patriots come from behind (again) and win a football game.

But Thanksgiving Day was different, all the cooking was well in hand by 11:00 AM and voila, a window of sunny opportunity presented itself so I got my proverbial shit together and took to the road for an hour. Actually, for one hour and four minutes, enough to feel euphoric.

Pile of Garb

Shad with Bike, Giving Thanks

The Halfway Point, Thanksgiving Day Ride 2013

Thanksgiving Day, Ride # 96

The day after Thanksgiving dawned in brightness and sub-freezing temperatures. Uncle Steve (my beloved's Uncle, in town visiting Mama D, my mother-in-law) brought his bike with him. Steve is retired now and manages to log oh let's say 5000 miles per year en bicyclette. He is a mad man, a savage, though the predominance of his miles come from long group rides touring, a hundred miles a day of leisure-paced ambling to get from point A to point B in order to get up the next day and get to point C. That sort of thing. Which is not to take anything away from him. At 69, he could, if pressed, probably take me to school. Yes, I can drop him on one of the West Leo Hills but were it to come down to mile-to-mile, a question of dutiful distance, he would kick my ass. He's got the distance thing down. I'm constrained by lack of time. I simply don't have extended hours to put in on the bike. I've had to hone my riding fitness to the time trial style - a limited amount of time to ride means that I get out there and hammer.

It was just freezing (32 degrees F) when we left. Multiple layers. The paper bag. Now I categorize rides as PBRs or not. A PBR day is a Paper Bag Ride meaning that it's cold enough that stuffing a paper bag between your layers is well-advised. But we were both dressed properly and we were both comfortable. My fingers were chilled at the start but even they warmed up after the first spirited hill climb.

Of course we went west, into the hills. Fewer cars. Prettier. Safer. Besides, Uncle Steve hails from Elisabeth, NJ, not exactly the most sylvan riding terrain, so when he comes up here to Lemonstar I feel it incumbent upon me to take him into the real Massachusetts countryside. So we did a Sholan Loop with the added section of Tuttle Rd (a wonderful extension of farmland and back country riding). And it was great. Sharp. A pristine day of air clarity. A good day to log some miles. And when we returned, turkey sandwiches. Allez!

Shad and Uncle Steve

Shadow Shad

Now the raw ending of the holiday weekend slides down upon me this Sunday night, a wretched icy froth in Lemonstar, the cold unpleasant reality of work tomorrow, a thousand losses, one hundred deaths by ennui, a cradle of plenty and a footlocker of loss. There are plateaus and peaks, valleys and troughs. There is the run to the Sun and the dismantling of one's self-respect. There are decisions to be made, limited resources, meat haunches to cook, bottles of empty promises to consume. There is the debauch of living larded with the lean fat of spiritual awakening. 

Each ride is a raw accomplishment. I give thanks for that. If I have moved my debased self over 15 miles on the thinnest of rubber tires, then I have moved my Self forward. I have avowed to Live and have fulfilled the promise of Life for another day.

Ride Stats: # 95, 14.7 miles, 13.6 mph, 1 H 4 M, 32 degrees.

                   # 96 22.19 miles, 13.6 mph, 1.39.17, 32 degrees and less. Both days sunny.