Ray9

I took it once. I played in rock a band for 15 years. This is my wife and I center in 1971. She has the glass, I am holding a cigarette; I quit tobacco in 1976.

alanf

I did too but I didn't inhale

bargo68 

Hey! You look like George Thorogood!




You don't look very happy in the picture. Probably a good thing to leave the acid alone!
Just messin'!

Ray9

I am fortunate enough to live about eight miles outside the city. I ride in a bucolic setting where shadows play on country roads that reach out to me like old friends. I am retired since 2015 and get good pensions so I can ride all day long if I choose. Not putting in 50 hours a week has really rejuvinated my riding fitness and I no longer have to ride till dark to get in the miles. A goup of serious riders, 30-40 somethings, passed me the other day and I asked if I could grab a wheel. They said OK and I settled in at the back.

They were quick and strong but at 73 I had no trouble keeping up. I even took a few pulls and one of the group commented that I was in pretty good shape for 50-year-old. I never mentioned my real age. Once again I must pay homage to Frank Shorter who changed my life in 1972 when he won the Olympic Marathon in 1972. I became a serious runner and never looked back. I went to the wheel in 1983 and that kept me away from bad health habits.

shelbyfv

Just in case we didn't get it the first time around. Or the second time....

Ray9

There are some changes I have made in light of the national emergency. I ride circuits now and never get more than about ten miles from home. I do not like repeating parts of the 50-mile course, but you do what you have to do. Sometimes I go even longer; I have had three 400-miles weeks this summer. I am 5’5 and weigh 126 pounds. For some reason it just not rain here so I seldom take hard days off, I take rolling days off like I always have where easy average speeds and granny spinning up hills are the rule. I laid out the course so that there are only two left turns, one is in the middle of nowhere so there is never traffic to cross.

I am still not back in the gym since March. I have seen fewer bikes on the rode though I pass a lot of old converted rail trails and see people on those. It usually takes me three hours to cover 50 miles, but I have done it a few times in two hours, forty-five minutes. It is like cycling is my job now and it gets boring sometimes.

One bicycle shop has gone down in the city. It had been in business since 1950. Another mom and pop operation is still hanging on and they would like to retire but cannot afford to. Oddly, they ran out of mid-priced bikes and are having trouble restocking. I usually go there in the fall and clean them out of bib shorts that are marked way down.

I get leg cramps a lot after I cycle-always have. I am taking high-dose magnesium and use Theraworx Relief which helps. I get hot-foot when the temp is over 90 degrees. I find that if I put a thin layer of Vaseline on the balls of my feet it helps. I use “Body Glide” in my crotch to prevent saddle sores and I ditch shorts that have worn chamois. I clean and lubricate my bikes every two weeks even if they appear to be working fine.

Cycling keeps my brain alert because it is the ultimate multi-tasking exercise requiring balance, timing, and body fitness. In the winter I ride a recumbent trainer and dream of riding outside while the snow flies outside. I look at my bikes hanging on the wall, they are like works of art combing eye-pleasing geometry, with functionality.

I want you to keep riding. I want you to peddle in circles, not squares and I want all your turns to be right turns to keep you safe. One could do worse than peddle a bike. It is a thing of beauty in a world that can be ugly at times.