still i am learning

 From a motto on an artwork misattributed to Michelangelo Buonarrotti, ancora imparo, still I am learning. Regular readers may remember that I've been thinking (undoubtedly too much) about pace on the rides I lead. I had an opportunity today to chat about it with some people I trust.

Tom H invited a few of us on a ride today. I initially thought I wouldn't be able to go due to dealing with the property management issues ensuing from the decease of the Excellent Mother-In-Law, but I was relieved of that duty for the day, and got to ride along with Tom, Laura OLPH, Jack H, and Rickety. (Forgive me, but I lost all the pictures today.) 

It was wicked hot, so we planned an early (for us) departure at 8am, and a shorter ride of a bit over 40 miles, expecting to be back about 11 before the heat got too bad (we were later than that, but not hugely so).

And it was a hot ride. But more important to me was the fact that I got to talk about my rides, and pace, and my social needs, and what reasonable expectations are (of myself, and of other people). We talked about aging, and some of the ways in which we're all dealing with that. We talked about family (and other) relationships. It helps to do this while riding, as the activity seems to push some of the extraneous matter out of the way, and it helps to talk about this stuff with people whom I've known, and with whom I've ridden, for years.

So the ride page, which shows our route, speed, and such stuff, tells only the most basic story about the ride today. The most important part isn't in the route or the numbers. I guess you had to be there.