Memories and Miles

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race."

H.G. Wells, novelist

Full gas.

Road bicycling is sprinkled with expressions coined by Europeans. Terms like peloton, musette and road furniture. One wears cycling kit (jersey and bibs) while passing under the one kilometer kite. Every endeavor seems to have its special jargon known primarily to the cognoscenti. 

Headed home on a beautiful Monday, most of a ride behind me. I had pushed the pace, applying the principle that "It doesn't get easier, you just go faster" my friend Wil attributes to racing legend Greg Lemond. A glance at the cyclocomputer bore that out - I was faster.

Full gas.

Effort is a matter of definition. It is possible to go slow and still be giving everything. Last year's cycling, and the several years preceding it, bear that out. I was cycling on sticky roads, every grade a struggle. Age, I surmised.

I set goals for 2013, something I had not done in the past. The Triple, with all of the nightmare potential, became a focal point. Enter my friends.

No one let me coast. We chatted, we laughed, there were times of kidding competition. I got better, faster. We rode the long passes. Then we rode them again the following week. We did Lookout for time, and then pushed some more. 

I went full gas this summer, reaffirming old cycling friendships, and making a new one. Fall approaches too fast, which I suppose is an apt metaphor. It just isn't any easier to accept.

Thank you, Wil, Jeromy and Alicia for a special cycling season.