4th Training Day - I Made a Friend

I work in downtown Cleveland. Anyone who lives near Cleveland is most likely aware of the festivities that take place in the city on St. Patrick's day. Bars open at 6 AM, there's a parade, and lots of people dressed in green. What a commotion it all is. For as much as I dislike throngs of drunk people, they did bring a lot of business and positive attention to a downtown area that is lacking in both of those. While walking around, I noticed the atmosphere, with the warm sunny weather and all the people and cars and noises, was more bustling like a Chicago or New York City; much different than the Cleveland I'm used to with overcast skies and empty restaurants. If only the people (preferably more sober) would come down more often.

Anyways, the weather was great. Not a cloud in the sky. I used this old custom that people take seriously by taking off work in order to be as inebriated as possible for the entire day, as an excuse to leave at 1:30 and go for a bike ride. What a relief it was to be in the park away from all those people! Immediately as I started out my ride, I noticed a fellow rider on his bike coming up right behind me. Knowing someone is in pursuit of me is just as motivating as me being in pursuit of someone. I rode fast right from the start.

At about 21-22 mph average I was able to hold off my chaser for 2 miles. I then got to the top of a rather taxing hill and decided to rehydrate in a parking lot. Not more than a minute or so later, here he comes up the hill and also decided to rest a moment. After commenting on the unusual make of my bike frame, we struck up a conversation covering most topics of cycling. We were both heading the same direction so continued our conversation on the road for the next couple of miles. Greg was his name. He is retired and considers cycling his "R and R". He enjoys very long daily rides. Longest of which was 150 miles in a day but said typically he will ride 80 or 100 miles on a Saturday. He only had time for a 30 mile ride today.

He mentioned a retired friend of his who, upon retiring at the age of 65, rode his bike across the U.S. twice. Good for him.

After parting ways with Greg, I continued for 3 more miles to ensure I got at least 20 miles in. It wasn't a speedy 20 miles, but it sure was an enjoyable 20 miles.