Today I rode 70 hilly miles on some of my favorite roads to mark my 70th birthday. On a long ride like this I have plenty of time to think. In the 57 years since my first long bike ride there have been changes, some of them quite unpleasant. Old friends with whom I have shared some fine bicycle adventures will never again turn a pedal. I need bigger gears now, and I get a little slower with each rotation of the calendar.
But today was a beautiful day, leading my mind to explore the joys of riding that remain unchanged from that earliest 50-mile ride until now.
The soft sound of my tires on the pavement of a quiet road is as mesmerizing as ever.
The battle between my hands which want to grab the brakes and my brain which knows better, in the apex of a downhill curve which I entered a little too quickly, still holds every bit of its old exhilaration.
I still find new views on roads that I have been riding for decades.
The joy of a well-tuned bike that becomes so much an extension of my own body that I almost forget it's there.
I'm sure you can add your own experiences to this list.
Brent