A Nice Sunday Bike Ride

I start this little monologue with a note on how out of touch fitness wise I have been for the last little while.

I had plans to run a full marathon in November in Moncton. Then as everyone knows, and a point I have belabored a bit too much, my professional life stepped up and said no. That’s cool, but I totally stepped ff the healthy bus for a while. Started eating poorly again with the excuse that I was busy, I started skipping runs, with the excuse that I was busy. The spiral continues but I think you and I get the point.

So, as things happen it seems that I will get the opportunity to go home for Thanksgiving, and the Valley harvest Marathon (and Half) are happening that weekend. For all kinds of reasons, personal pride, Kara, fellow Maniacs going I decided to get off the downward escalator and get on the one going back up.

I have started running again, and have been following a schedule again. And today I had a ten-twelve km planned.

I told you all that to tell you this.

I have had few days since I became a runner that I have woke up and truly felt that I didn’t want to run. Even days with injuries, days with no time, whatever I usually still felt like running. Today, nope. Maybe my body finally said, “Listen jackass, you are eating crap and were working continuous 16 hour days, NO running, that means you.”

So. I didn’t run, didn’t even dig out my running gear. Then I proceeded to feel restless and snappy all day. I busied myself round the house with little tasks and stuff. But the mood persisted.

Then on a whim I changed my clothes into some workout clothes and jumped on my bike, and started pedaling. Now I did do some planning. I filled my water bottle, had a quick snack, and drank a little water. I planned a route, well, sort of. I had a general idea of where I wanted to go, and considering my familiarity with this area I took this as a good opportunity to learn the area. I am so dumb.

I left and figured at most with the route I wanted to follow I would do about 15km, by far the longest ride I had done since reacquainting myself with the bike. The first warning sign should have been the sign that said “Salisbury 11km”, but maybe I was so frustrated by the continuous rolling hills. There was nary a level patch, I was either on a down slope or climbing a damn slope. I was changing gears more than the Red Sox change second basemen.

It was when I climbed the hill that housed the sign that said, “Welcome to Salisbury” That I realized I might have missed my turn…

I transitioned from the pavement to dirt to pavement at one point coming into and realized I had been shot. I hadn’t heard it, but I felt it. Right above my right bum cheek. Maybe the locals didn’t like bikers…kind of an Easy Rider thing. It paralyzed me for a short time. That’s when I decided I would backtrack to a payphone and call Kara. This I did do. And after I got off the phone I must have looked silly trying to find the pins that were sticking up through the seat into my ass. Never found them, or the shooter.

I figured with Kara coming as a knight in a shining Windstar I would back track and meet up with her. This I did do, it took a little while for me to work the kinks out but then I started to make some good time.

A short time later I was rescued, and mercilessly tortured by my son…ahhhh.

Kara and I backtracked to my turnaround point and clocked the distance. Apparently I made it 8 km back from my turnaround. All in all, I traveled exactly 30 km in 90 minutes. Much more than I thought possible at this stage in the game.

Well I must go, I am going to be surfing the internet for walkers.