bike a century

I lost forty pounds last year cycling and doing yoga. The first ride this year HURT my rear. I’m doing short ten mile rides three times a week, got my average speed up Red Rock Canyon from 12 to 16 mph in a month. There are so many goals I’ve started with great energy and excitement only to abandon when they turn into work. This one is different because I love the process, in fact the process is as good or better than hitting the goal, the goal will be a sideline to what I’ve become and am capable of when it happens. But a trip down PCH from Newport to San Diego sounds like way much fun.

After a month of searching I bought a Merlin bicycle on ebay from Maryland. It came this week and I took it right away to McGhies for tuning. Wow, I love this bike. I rode a cannondale from 1980 to 1986 and always dreamed of a Klein, but this bike is waaaay better than that Klein I dreamed about. The guys at the bike shop turned their noses up at my find, it’s twenty years old after all. The computer was only $40, shoes and pedals under $300 and I picked it up after spending the day at painting in 116 degrees. I can’t remember being this excited, it’s like christmas to a five year old. I rode around the block, 7 1/2 miles in 33 minutes with a topspeed of 63 mph. I stopped before my butt started hurting. I’ve got that raw feeling in my lungs and throat from breathing hard. This feels so good.