If I ever meet the guy that coined the phrase, "it's just like riding a bike," I might take him out behind the woodshed and kick his ass. That is, if I didn't think I'd throw a pathetic jab into the wind and then buckle over in exhaustion. Riding a bike is nothing like "it's just like riding a bike." Seriously. I went for my first ride today at lunchtime. And by first ride, I mean the first ride since I rode back to my little hovel of a motel room in Bend, Oregon after Cyclocross Nationals in December. I knew it wouldn't be like my last race or training rides, but c'mon, I didn't think I'd actually struggle. My ride was an hour long and very flat. I started in Concord and rode down the Iron Horse Trail to Alamo. Immediately, while pedalling softly, my heart rate settled in at a robust 145 beats per minute. The perceived effort was easy at best, so I stopped to make sure the monitor strap was installed correctly. It was, so I started riding again and boom, up went the heart rate. And then, looming in the distance like Mt. Ventoux, rising out of the asphalt in all it's glory stood the Ygnacio Valley Road bike path over crossing. I clicked it down into the little ring and spun my way up. My heart rate spiked to 170. I stared at my monitor in horror. As I rode down the backside of this hors categorie monument, I paled at the thought that I would have to meet it upon my return. Luckily I had some of those PowerGels to keep me fueled. I continued on without incident, other than the elevated heart rate inexplicably begging me to slow down to 14 mph or letting fly with a moving coronary. I rode by the house so I could wave at the wifeage and prove that I can still ride a bike, but she wasn't home. My out and back ride should be as flat going back as it was coming, but it suddenly became very hilly, what with the overpass to conquer as well as the otherwise uncategorized Treat Blvd. bike path over crossing that somehow can be un-categorized in one direction but a category 1 climb on the return. Once I made it over the Treat Blvd. pass, it was smooth sailing back to the rockpile, but just barely. Some chick on a mountain bike, wearing jeans and lugging a backpack gave me some wheel along the river, but I was able to put in a rather smallish dig and drop her, again with the heart rate blasting up to 160. Anyway, I'm sure your training rides are going much better, but it's a start for me. It's the same every year, so I'm not concerned. Heck, I didn't start my training until April last year when I was 12 pounds heavier than what the dial read this morning. So that's good...I think. Anyway, hope you are well and if you can, a gentle push on some of the peaks around here would be great if you see me in a spot of difficulty.

Kindly,

Johnny (HeartRate)GoFast