loop

I made my loop a little bigger today. Instead of continuing south to make it a 40 mile ride, I took a right turn, headed west and made it home at 59 miles. Almost halfway there's a little city park with a restroom and a shelter to rest for a minute next to a small fishing lake. It's also the home to the old city jail. That's some hard time.

After about 45 miles I ran into a guy in the middle of nowhere that I met in Colorado last August. I wouldn't have recognized him from a distance, except for the fact that he rides a trike. I know there's a better name for it, but that's what he calls it. He is not doing the CRMBT this year, but he is doing BTC, so I'll see him there. We rode together for 7 or 8 miles until I had to head north to get home.

While a was riding alone, as I do most times, my mind wandered. It doesn't always go to deep places. A few weeks ago I stopped shaving for a couple weeks. I hate shaving, and I don't normally shave when I'm on a week long bike tour. I've had people tell me that I look younger than my years. But, now when I get my hair cut, I notice a lot of grey falling to the floor. When I don't shave for a week, the beard comes in real grey. Can I use this to my advantage? I mean, if strangers fly by me on mountain climbs, they might say "Well he IS short and stocky"! But when they see the beard, they may add "Okay, he's old too".

I won't be the oldest person on the tour, by far. I think I read that the average age of riders on another Colorado tour, Ride the Rockies, was somewhere in the late 40s. There's nothing I can do if old men, or worse, old women, leave me in their dust, but that average rider doesn't need to know my true age, right?

Anyway, it felt good to get a long ride in. If the weather cooperates I should have a couple days next week to ride as far as I want, and I'm considering going to South Dakota next weekend. The Tour de Kota is having a training ride along the Missouri river on Saturday and Sunday. 75 miles each way, and camping in a state park across the border in Nebraska. If I can keep it up I should be fine by June 18. Shaving may even become a non-factor.



You never have the wind with you - either it is against you or you're having a good day. ~Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles