omil recovery ride

Ricky G (who ought to be canonized before the weather changes, although I think he has too much humility even to know why I'm suggesting it) saw my last blog post and texted that if I was gonna go on a ride, he'd be happy to come along. I haven't been on a bike except to roll down the driveway for about six weeks due to illness, and I'm not recovering quickly. Tom H or Laura OLPH were planning a 55-mile ride, and I knew I'd never finish that, so I texted Ricky about a 32-miler from home, and he agreed.

We did part of my usual route that goes up to 6 Mile/Blackwells Mills. I stopped on the bridge for pictures...

... but mostly because I wanted to get one of Ricky:

And off we went. It was a little colder than Ricky had planned for, but it was a great day. We got to chatting about what he did before he retired, and I learned about tools, and wheels coming off buses. (Don't worry; it doesn't much happen anymore, according to Ricky.)

Up in Hillsborough, I've passed this place a few times:

... and I wanted to get a picture so that I can go look 'em up. After all, is there even a market for yesterday's business computers?

From Hillsborough, we go the full length of East Mountain Ave (where there is a demanding hill) and turn onto 601. And it was there I started to flag. We weren't talking much, but there was even less after that. Ricky kept up some conversation, perhaps to be sure I wasn't getting delirious, but I wasn't stellar or sparkling in my banter.

But we made it back without incident. I'm glad I went, but I'm also glad I didn't do any more. You can see on the ride page that I was in C+ range today, and I'm not going to go tomorrow even if weather allows. I've already had a nap, and early to bed is the likely watchword.

I'm an Old Man In Lycra. Here's hoping I can build up some strength and stamina so I can ride with the Slugs or Tom's Insane Bike Posse before the July 4th All-Paces.