155th ride

This sounds rather overly dramatic, but I sincerely did not know whether I would ever get to ride my bicycle again in the wake of my fall and resulting broken clavicle last September 25. So I was beyond thrilled to hear Michelle say last night, and confirm it again today, that she'd be fine with me riding so long as I stayed off the road. I was so overjoyed to be granted this reprieve that I gladly made that pledge. Since the fall last September had caused three very minor cracks in my helmet, we felt it would be wise to get a new one, so I went to Wheels in Motion this afternoon (where I had gotten my bike last spring, at the recommendation of my friend Doug Tidd) and got a new helmet, which proudly shows the winged helmet design and colors of the University of Michigan.

I deliberately chose a fairly limited ride (compared to some I did last year)—in part because this was necessary to stay within the restrictions to which I agreed, and also because I've lost so much conditioning in the last 8 months that this was all I wanted. In 47 minutes, pedaling easily, I rode 8.4 miles down the Lohr-Textile Greenway (that broad, nicely paved path that runs along the eastern side of Lohr Road), and followed it when it turns west and runs along the south side of Textile as far as Woodland, and then rode on the sidewalk along Woodland down as far as Industrial, where I turned around and headed back home. And this on a spectacular sun-drenched 71° spring evening; I left before the Tiger game was over, which was an uncommonly rare decision for me, but as they were losing 11-1 in the 8th inning, I figured, "Why not!"

I shouldn't be surprised after so long a layoff, but a couple of other things were in evidence. One was how much less able I was to get comfortable on the hard, narrow bicycle seat; and another was how the tires has lost air as the bike sat unused in our garage all through our hard, long winter. The tires had less than 40 pounds of air pressure in them, so, after consulting the note I had taped to the wall of our garage last year to refresh my memory, I hooked up the pump and pumped them up to about 95 pounds each, giving me a good ride.

I am going to use an excess of care and caution, which is not necessarily easy for me, since being conservative (either behaviorally or politically) is contrary to my natural inclination. But I feel rather like a cat that has already used up 8 of its lives, and I intend to make the most of this gracious additional chance.

Although such an apples-and-oranges comparison is patently foolish, I am aware that by this time in 2013 I had already ridden 525 miles (finishing the year with over 1800). But that's OK—I'll just do what I can now, rejoicing in the opportunity.