It seemed like ages since I really rode.

Sure I had been on a bike; I’d thrown a leg over a few rigs for parking lot spins, ran up to the store on my commuter, but as far as really riding… it had been a long while. Last weekend though, after putting my 6 month old daughter down for her morning nap, I dusted off my trusty old Tuscany for a couple hours in the saddle.

At first it hurt as my heart rate jumped up close to my max BPM and my body struggled to keep up with my contorted sense of “easy spinning”. The problem is, I still think I’m fast. What was a leisurely big ring climb only months ago is now a paced breathing effort. As I huffed and puffed along to my secret entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway I was surprised at how quick my fitness had gone and the real climbing hadn’t even started. As the road steepened, it was slow going at first, even for me. I could barely turn over my 39×27 (I used to spin a 39×23 up this thing!).

After about 10 minutes of this, my heart rate settled down, I started pedaling circles, and a smile started slowly emerging from my grimaced face. It felt great, really breathing hard, controlling the effort but getting that connection with the bike back, ticking off the elevation, turning over the cranks, letting the shoulders down.

After about an hour of this I turned around and headed back to relive my wife from her solo mission at home. Soon thereafter a twosome passed me, just flying. Instinctively I punched it to catch on. They were hammering, but it was easy to suck wheel, and when we had to part ways, they smiled and waved as I thanked them for the pull.

Being back on two wheels, feeling the intensity of a steep climb, the rush of screaming downhill, and taking advantage of the orchestrated chemistry of two guys in a hurry… it was a great ride.

Just need it more often…