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Almost-Daily Diary http://www.chainreactionblogs.com/diary/2018/10/25/where-has-everybody-gone/ Export date: Mon Nov 25 1:51:45 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Where HAS everybody gone? Some of it is simply that I'm getting older, and slower. The days when I could ride at the front and keep track of people are long gone, and for a while, I was the straggler, the "weakest link" that everyone else had to wait up for. That's changing; this year, despite being on the wrong side of 60, I've ridden stronger this year than last. But for that 3 or 4 years that saw my times up Kings steadily increase, it probably wasn't that much fun to ride with me. And then there's the other issue- EVERYONE is getting older. JR is 67 if I recall correctly? Pilot is 63. Some might not think doing the same thing, week after week, year after year, is as much fun in their mid-60s as it is in your, well, late 40s. Wow, that seems so young now, but didn't seem like it then! So why do *I* keep doing it? A few reasons. First, it's a reference. A way of knowing the shape I'm in, and assessing the effects of age, and sometimes meds and illnesses, on my performance. You can't do that if you're not doing the same thing. Second, there's that fear, a real, not imagined, fear, that some morning I'll wake up and say, I don't have to ride today. I can take the day off. And then, a year or two or three down the road, I'll look back at that date as the beginning of the end. As long as I can keep doing this same ride, there's a sense of immortality. The fact that I'm a bit slower isn't that big a deal; we're talking 3 minutes slower up Kings, and maybe a total of 2 extra minutes elsewhere. So, a ride that used to take 2 hours now takes 2 hours, 5 minutes. That's over 10 years time. I'm OK doing the ride by myself if need be, but it would be nice if we had some of the faster riders again to challenge Kevin (younger Kevin; the pilot's showing signs of slowing down just like me!). It's fun watching him chase people down, and asking him, when I get to the top, how many days he's been waiting. So yes, just myself and (younger) Kevin today, on a surprisingly-foggy morning. Casual pace up through the park, escaping the fog about a third of the way up the hill. Nice up on top; dry, low-50s. Great views of the fog on the bay side and clear on the coast side. Saw two rabbits, one in Huddart, the other on West Old LaHonda. Perhaps that rarest of days when the view descending 84 into Woodside might have been better than the view from West Old LaHonda! I don't know how many more years of this ride I have in me, but I expect a minimum of 5. That's based on JR, still riding with us at 67. If he can do it, I can, right? And I find it very likely I'll not stop prior to 70, just because. |
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Post date: 2018-10-25 23:59:10 Post date GMT: 2018-10-26 06:59:10 Post modified date: 2018-10-25 23:59:10 Post modified date GMT: 2018-10-26 06:59:10 |
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