Back in the saddle (again)

It had to happen. Well, actually it didn’t have to happen, but I hoped it would. Eventually. Some day.
 That day was yesterday. A fine, cool, overcast Southern California Sunday. My lovely wife and I dusted off our bikes, Put air (and a couple of new tubes) in the tires, lubed the chains and cables and headed out to the San Gabriel River bike trail.
 It’s been such a long time since we’d ridden our bikes, neither of us could remember how long, in fact. But through process of elimination, calendar landmarks and such, we figure it has been almost two years. That’s just ridiculous. But, the journey (or bike ride) of a thousand miles begins with one step. Or one pedal stroke. So I pulled on the stretchy bike shorts, stuffed myself into a jersey, dug out my helmet, gloves and shoes and mounted up.
 How was it? In a word: wonderful. Not only had the civic powers-that-be greatly improved the bike path from the last time I had ridden on it (newly repaved and striped, smooth, crack-free and relatively debris free), but because of the mild grade of the path as it heads from Arrow Highway south, past Interstate 10 and on towards its ultimate destination near Long Beach, I was able to ride six miles (even into a strong headwind) before realizing that – I was now six miles away from our truck and ride home. And that as nice and relaxing as the six miles just ridden had been, in spite of the wind – the six miles back would all be uphill.
 Doh!
 But, the bicycle spirits were kind and the headwinds became tail winds, helping to make the return ride – dare I say it? A breeze. Yes, my thighs were beginning to protest as eight miles turned to nine, then ten and the grade increased the closer we got to our starting point.
 But we did it. We even added another mile in the other direction once we made it back to our pickup truck – just because we felt like a cool down mile.
 It’s great to be back. So much so that – we’re talking about entering the Pasadena Marathon Bike Tour that’s coming up at the end of next month. I mean, if we were able to crank out thirteen miles the first time back on a bike in almost two years, how hard could 26 miles be to work up to in almost two months? Right?
 Stay tuned.