Day 156: Tired but not Willing to Change my Flight Plan

I woke up late today after hanging out with friends last night. I think that I got to bed at about 3:00 am, and that was unheard of for me some 12 months ago. Back then I would have been asleep by 10:00 pm, if not sooner. Don’t get me wrong, I still get to sleep early on most nights, but when having fun with friends the clock seems to disappear from my thinking. I got an Email this morning while I was sipping my Peets coffee. It was my friend “M” talking about bike stuff. I thought about the fact that I had overslept and was long past making it to the Saturday Morning ride, and then thought that I’d call “M” to see if he was free to “go long” today. Going long is my way of indicating that I want to do a long ride. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he was into going with me. :- ) He came over shortly thereafter, and we did a little pre-ride maintenance on my front porch where we were watched over by Tugboat. He was guarding “M’s” oatmeal cereal that he’d brought over in a large coffee mug. Boys will be boys. These two get along great! We left after tending to the crapped-out cables on our Blurs. Happy shifting while starting out on a long ride is always a nice feeling. “M” was still having a little leftover shifting issue that seemed to work itself out as we rode. That was good.

The idea today was to ride directly to the top of Mount Tamalpais’ East Peak before traversing and then climbing over to the West Peak via the road. From there we would take the fire road over to Rock Springs, and then down to the lakes on the back side, where we would wrap around them, before ascending back via Eldridge Grade. It’s a substantial ride for one guy that’s tired (me), and another that’s getting back into great riding condition one ride at a time (“M”). After climbing up to East Peak, I was really not feeling great in the saddle. Then, Miles was absent from the Snack Shack today, so I was forced to make my purchase from the sometimes-evil Coke machine. I fortunately had a crisp one dollar bill that worked on the first try. “M” arrived minutes later, and he too had luck with the Coke machine. Yahoo! We sat at the bench for a while, where I kind of sank into it's soft wood and contemplated bailing out on the original ride plan. I could have easily headed back from there, and it still would have been a legit ride, so-to-speak. I told “M” about how I was feeling, and I’m pretty sure that he would have been OK with me if I had bailed on the long ride, but that wouldn’t have been right for me to alter what I had originally committed too. Commitment has become absolutely crucial to my recovery. I had lost my sense of commitment over the years while living with an alcoholic. People like "G," that new me when I was one of the most committed people on the planet, is still floored by how far off track I got. So I acknowledged out loud to "M" about my hesitance to move on to the next leg of our journey together, but right then I sucked it up, and quit my whining. I had nothing to whine about. It was a gorgeous day, in a beautiful place, and I was with a friend. What more does one need for incentive to move on?

He and I headed onward, and within a few miles I was feeling pretty good again on the bike. By the time that we started the climb back out of the lakes area, I was feeling pretty darn good. On the first climb back to Eldridge Grade, I began to feel quite good, and on the climb up Eldridge Grade I felt strong again. How weird is that? Thank you to my legs, or to someone! I still feel looked after, and if I were to guess, it would be my brother Rick's long and protective arm reaching down and nudging me forward. He was like that; he was a pillar of strength for me that I'll never forget. If only his kids could have known him. That's my family's greatest tragedy, and one from which I doubt that I'll ever recover. I'm just not that strong. Not many things can bring me to tears in an instant, but as I write about my beloved brother...

We rode back to Mill Valley together via Coasters, and then Tank Turns, where we were both having fun on our FS Santa Cruz bikes. I was wearing a Camelback which was causing some discomfort on my ribs as I bounced down the trail at speed, but it was all good in the end. Riding the Blur is very helpful in making my ribs forget that I'm rolling down a mountain.

All in all, today was a great day in the saddle. Being committed to the ride, and then executing it, made me feel stronger on the inside. Not too long ago, I would have called it a day, rather than to remain committed to the ride. ;-) Thanks for the great ride “M.” Upon returning home, and after "M" left, Tugboat expressed his interest in acting up. He had been in the house for about four hours without his walk, so he was all about letting me know that he was ready to go! This photo shows his loving way of letting me know. On his back, and with his legs pushing up towards the ceiling with gusto. I just love my boy.

Distance: 25.63 miles Calories burned: 2,410 Time: 2:53:05 hours Elevation gain: 3,855 Garmin Connect ride details: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/19349632