05 July 2007

Independence Day: Parades, Fireworks... Bike Rides?

In what has apparently become family tradition, I did the Scripps Ranch Old Pros Bike Ride yesterday. Since moving to San Diego we've done the 12-mile "Family Fun" ride. Two years ago, my wife rode with us and my son was in a seat on the back of my bike. Last year, my wife was pregnant and it was just me and the kid. This year however, my son has gotten too big for his bike-mounted seat and I didn't have anything sufficient for him to tag along with. So I did the 28-mile ride solo.

It was definitely more hilly that I'm used to. My semi-daily ride to work is about 6 miles, so this was quite the step up. I did it in two hours flat and it was just about perfect for my cycling strength. My 2005 Trek 1500 was pretty decent for the ride. I definitely have to work on my hill climbing. I managed to hit 42.1 MPH during one of the downhill portions when I was still fresh and trying to catch up with some other riders. That's freakin' fast when there's nothing between you and the pavement but two thin tires.

The water and oranges at the finish line tasted better than a meal fit for a king.

Unfortunately, the ride didn't go well for everyone. (There's actually a few errors in that story: It's the 56 highway, not the 76. The 10K was the run portion; he was on the 28-mile ride.)

I'm looking forward to next year, but I won't be doing the Tour de France anytime soon.

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