I love cycling, and back in ‘ought 6 (2006), when I was being treated for asthma after inhaling post-Katrina black mold and flood dust, one of my doctors told me that if I didn’t swim or ride a bike regularly I’d be on oxygen by the time I was 70. That was all I needed to hear. I miss being able to do laps in the pool, and even more so collapsing into the hot tub afterwards, but living right along a major bike route cannot pass up the opportunity to ride often.
Today the ride was pretty un-compelling. For lack of any motivation at all, I just got on the bike and rode to the lake and back, so I could chalk it up as done, and to reap whatever benefits I might reap. I’m at the point where I can ride 20 miles without thinking about it, 30 with some prep, and 50 with trepidation but not alarm. The weather was cooler than the thermostats read, gloomy, overcast, with a heaviness in the air, as if the sky might burst open at any moment or, as if rain drops might just materialize directly from the heavy humid air itself. Silently wishing I had never left the comfort of home and simultaneously giving thanks for being in the great outdoors, it eventually did start to rain about 3 blocks from home. Saturday was 10 miles, Sunday was 20, today was 20. Stretch time.
Still, excessive aerobic training without strength training can lead to a high body fat percentage, which is where I am overall. Hence the renewed focus on strength training. But that’s another story, for another time.