5-15-88 Today marks my third year of serious bike riding. I got started in May 1985. As I recall, I went riding one Sunday after Moira Richmond told me that she had a steady boyfriend and that she wanted to be “just friends” with me. It was therapeutic—designed to get my mind off my broken heart. But I kept at it, riding at least forty miles every Sunday (occasionally a Saturday). There have now been 156 weekends, or three years. In that time, I missed only nine [weekend] rides. I had streaks of 28, 76, 25, 4, and now 14 consecutive rides. Like my journal, bike riding has been a constant feature of my life, something that gives it meaning and makes me feel good about myself. It is a friend. Sometimes I look forward to the ride; sometimes I wish I could stay home and do something else. But always I ride. Once I get on the bike and hit the road, I’m in a different world, a world of beautiful scenery, warm temperatures (usually), competition (against myself), and healthy physical exertion. I’ve enjoyed every minute of every ride, even when it rained or I was dog-tired. Here’s to the past three years; I’ll never forget them. [I’ve now been bicycling in earnest for 23 years. I love it as much as ever.]
Today’s ride took me to Avra Valley, a flat, desert area northwest of town. I’ve been there many times, though I usually refer to it as “the Picacho Peak ride”. Today I didn’t go to the Peak; instead, I turned south at Frontage Road and rode home. It was a hot one: 103 degrees [Fahrenheit]. I was outside for five hours, from three until eight o’clock. My average speed was a mediocre 15.40 miles per hour. (I averaged 15.74 miles per hour during the first ten miles. Thereafter, I stayed between 15.35 and 15.64 miles per hour. Talk about consistency!) All told, I covered 73.1 miles, the last ten or so in the dark. I felt fatigued at the fifty-mile mark, but after sipping Gatorade at the corner of Ina and Frontage Roads, I recovered and made it home safely. Statistically, I’ve pedalled [sic; should be “pedaled”] 8036.5 miles in the past three years, for an average of 2678.8 miles per year. I’ve ridden 3075.5 miles in the past year. Finally, I’ve covered an average of 51.6 miles per week during the first twenty weeks of 1988. I’m on track for ten thousand miles in Tucson before the end of July.
