“She wants you. You know she does. You should get yourself some of that.”
“How can you even contemplate such a thing, knowing the shambles it would make of our marriage, our career, and our future?”
Thankfully, that argument has been going on so long that it’s become more like an amiable sports rivalry between old friends. While the exchanges still go on, there’s no heat in them anymore.
No, the arguments that still carry some passion go something like this:
“Given our family history, and current weight, it would behoove us to get some exercise.”
“Screw you. I’m comfy right here on the couch. Get me some pizza.”
So it was a bit of a shock when I realized today that even though I really wanted to lay around the house, my body was craving exercise. All the riding in the month of September had triggered strange biochemical changes in me, and part of me just really wanted to get out on my bike.
The forecast was for mid-60’s and only a 20% chance of rain. I surely wasn’t going to get a better chance than that, maybe for the rest of the winter. So off I went.
When I hit the bike path, I was reminded of an important aspect of autumn in the northwest. I’ve heard that in other parts of the country, autumn leaves are crisp and fluffy. They blow about in the wind, and crunch underfoot. That is not the case here. Here, autumn is the beginning of the rainy season, and autumn leaves are flat soggy things that carpet the streets and sidewalks, and smother the lawns. Most importantly to cyclists, wet leaves on pavement have a coefficient of friction similar to mineral oil on Teflon. So, I rode very cautiously indeed while I was on the bike path.
Other than that, it was a good ride. I took a route I’ve been reluctant to try in the past because of the hills involved. After my trials commuting to work, I decided I shouldn’t be so afraid of hills anymore, and in fact it wasn’t that bad. There was one curving descent that was a lot of fun. The air was crisp, and although dark clouds occasionally threatened rain, it remained dry.
Today’s stats:
- Total distance: 25.8 miles
- Max speed: 38.6 mph (THAT was fun)
- Total time (moving): 2 hrs 7 minutes
- Ave. speed (moving): 12.1 mph
- Time stopped: 9 minutes
- Ave. speed (overall): 11.2 mph
- No. of recumbents seen: 2
- No. of pieces of roadkill seen: 2; 1 possum, 1 raccoon
- No. of llamas seen: 3